0000000000133122
AUTHOR
J.-e. Groetz
Well GeHP detector calibration for environmental measurements using reference materials
International audience; A well-type detector installed in the Modane underground Laboratory (LSM) can combine both low background and high detection efficiency and it is well suited for the analysis of small amounts of environmental samples. Reference materials such as IAEA-447 (moss-soil), IAEA-RG-Th1 and IAEA-RG-U1 were used for the detector calibration, owing to a chemical composition close to those of the environmental samples. Nevertheless , the matrix effects and the true coincidence summing effects must be corrected from the full energy peak efficiency (FEPE). The FEPE was performed for a wide range of energy by a semi-empirical method using Monte Carlo simulation (MCNP6), intended f…
Evidence for a critical dose above which damage to carbonate ester bonds in PADC appear after gamma ray and ultra soft X-ray exposures
Abstract It has been confirmed that the density of carbonate ester in poly(allyl diglycol carbonate) (PADC), which is a well-known polymeric nuclear track detector CR-39, begins decreasing above a critical dose of about 60 kGy during exposures to Co-60 gamma rays and Ultra Soft X-rays (USX: Kα (Al) with energy 1.49 keV). After exposure to Co-60 gamma rays at 77 K and room temperature (RT), a significant difference in Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectra has been observed at both sides of a critical dose of 60 kGy, where is a threshold for the degradation of carbonate ester in PADC. Namely, the types of free radicals in PADC are different from each other below and above this critical dose. …
Adsorption of water in Na-LTA zeolites: an ab initio molecular dynamics investigation
The very wide range of applications of LTA zeolites, including the storage of tritiated water, implies that a detailed and accurate atomic-scale description of the adsorption processes taking place in their structure is crucial. To unravel with an unprecedented accuracy the mechanisms behind the water filling in NaA, we have conducted a systematic ab initio molecular dynamics investigation. Two LTA structural models, the conventional Z4A and the reduced one ZK4, have been used for static and dynamic ab initio calculations, respectively. After assessing this reduced model with comparative static DFT calculations, we start the filling of the α and β cages by water, molecule by molecule. This …
Determination of mass attenuation coefficient by numerical absorption calibration with Monte-Carlo simulations at 59.54 keV
Abstract This study presents a numerical method in order to determine the mass attenuation coefficient of a sample with an unknown chemical composition at low energy. It is compared with two experimental methods: a graphic method and a transmission method. The method proposes to realise a numerical absorption calibration curve to process experimental results. Demineralised water with known mass attenuation coefficient ( 0.2066 cm 2 g − 1 at 59.54 keV) is chosen to confirm the method. 0.1964 ± 0.0350 cm 2 g − 1 is the average value determined by the numerical method, that is to say less than 5% relative deviation compared to more than 47% for the experimental methods.
Detector-electrode for alpha spectrometry in water sample, numerical and early feasibility investigation toward thermocompression bonding assembly process
International audience; This study focuses on the feasibility of a detector-electrode for direct alpha measurement in aqueous samples. Such a device could be made by adding a boron doped diamond electrode on top of a standard silicon detector, with bonding and insulating layers. The impact of these different layers has been investigated by Monte-Carlo simulation (MCNP6), to find a compromise between alpha detection of the silicon, electrode and shielding properties of the diamond. The assembly process involving thermocompression between both substrates was successfully achieved under a clean room conditions.
Annual effective dose and excess life time cancer risk assessment from tobacco plants
Cigarette smoking is one of the pathways that might cause radiation exposure due to the presence of radioactive elements in tobacco leaves used in the manufacture of cigarettes. From the health point of view, the knowledge of radioactivity content of the various radionuclides in tobacco leaves and their derivative products is important to assess the radiological effects associated with tobacco smoking for smokers. In this work, naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K and man-made 137Cs were measured in tobacco using gamma-ray spectrometry. Results show that the average concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K vary from 4.30 ± 0.2 to 11.85 ± 0.7 (average 8.17), 1.35 ± 0.1 to 16.…