Development of a low background liquid scintillation counter for a shallow underground laboratory.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has recently opened a shallow underground laboratory intended for measurement of low-concentration levels of radioactive isotopes in samples collected from the environment. The development of a low-background liquid scintillation counter is currently underway to further augment the measurement capabilities within this underground laboratory. Liquid scintillation counting is especially useful for measuring charged particle (e.g., β and α) emitting isotopes with no (or very weak) gamma-ray yields. The combination of high-efficiency detection of charged particle emission in a liquid scintillation cocktail coupled with the low-background environment of an appropriately designed shield located in a clean underground laboratory provides the opportunity for increased-sensitivity measurements of a range of isotopes. To take advantage of the 35m-water-equivalent overburden of the underground laboratory, a series of simulations have evaluated the scintillation counter's shield design requirements to assess the possible background rate achievable. This report presents the design and background evaluation for a shallow underground, low background liquid scintillation counter design for sample measurements.
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA; Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA. Electronic address: jennifer.erchinger@pnnl.gov.
J L
JL
Erchinger
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
C E
CE
Aalseth
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
B E
BE
Bernacki
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
M
M
Douglas
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
E S
ES
Fuller
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
M E
ME
Keillor
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
S M
SM
Morley
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
C A
CA
Mullen
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
J L
JL
Orrell
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
M E
ME
Panisko
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
G A
GA
Warren
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA; Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH 45504, USA.
R O
RO
Williams
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
M E
ME
Wright
Liquid scintillation counting; Low background; Shallow underground laboratory