Advancement of a Liquid Scintillation Counter and Semiconductor Alpha Spectroscopy Detector to Estimate the Radon Concentration in Groundwater

Mamun, Al; Alazmi, Amira

doi:10.3390/w14233849

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Monthly calibration with a standard source was used to monitor the device's performance, and background radiation levels were kept under constant review using a shield in the Mikrowin parameter option for super low-level measurement. The details of the calculation procedures have been published previously [21,22]. In addition, to prevent static electricity effects, the Hidex 300 SL has a mechanism to discharge static electricity from the sample before measurement, which increases the sample processing time by 1-2 s.…”

Section: Tritium Activity Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Advanced Optimization Method to Minimize the Detection Limit of Liquid Scintillation Counter to Measure Low-Level Tritium Activity in Groundwater

Mamun

2023

Radiation

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In arid regions, the tritium concentration in groundwater is typically very low and often falls below the minimum detectable activity (MDA) of the conventional liquid scintillation counter (LSC). Therefore, to measure the tritium activity concentration, it is necessary to lower the detection limit so that the scintillation counter can detect it. In the present study, several methods are discussed which are effective at lowering the detectable activity of tritium. One of these methods is to enrich the tritium activity concentration by ten- to fortyfold of the initial concentration of the tritium. Twelve spiked samples with known amounts of tritium, five with high concentrations and seven with low concentrations, were enriched by the electrolysis process. The results indicated that enriching the tritium levels in groundwater lowers the MDA value. Other methods are minimizing background radiation using low-background materials for sample containers, increasing the measurement efficiency of the scintillation counter and counting time, and shielding the sample from environmental radiation using the shutter option in LSC. Moreover, reducing the number of interfering contaminants in the sample can lower the uncertainty in measuring the tritium concentration in the water sample, which is beneficial for detecting low-level tritium in water to ensure public health and safety.

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Section: Tritium Activity Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Advanced Optimization Method to Minimize the Detection Limit of Liquid Scintillation Counter to Measure Low-Level Tritium Activity in Groundwater

Mamun

2023

Radiation

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“…Monthly calibration with a standard source was used to monitor the device's performance, and background radiation levels were kept under constant review using a shield in the Mikrowin parameter option for super low-level measurement. The details of the calculation procedures have been discussed earlier [26][27][28]. In addition, to prevent static electricity effects, the Hidex 300 SL has a mechanism to discharge static electricity from the sample before measurement, which increases the sample processing time by 1-2 s. used to monitor the device's performance, and background radiation levels were der constant review using a shield in the Mikrowin parameter option for super lo measurement.…”

Section: Tritium Activity Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enrichment of Low-Level Tritium in Groundwater via an Electrolysis Process for Liquid Scintillation Counting Applications

Mamun

2023

Geosciences

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Tritium levels in the groundwater of arid regions are very low; in most cases, these low tritium levels cannot be detected using a conventional liquid scintillation counter (LSC). To measure the tritium activity concentration, low-level tritium in groundwater needs to be enriched by a known factor so that the scintillation counter can detect it. An electrolysis process with electrolytic cells was designed and fabricated in our laboratory following the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) instructions. Nine spiked samples with a known quantity of tritium were enriched, and the tritium activity concentration was measured using the scintillation counter. The enriched water exhibits a comparable level of spiked samples, albeit with some degree of uncertainty. A correlation was drawn among the tritium activity, enrichment factor, and the required time for the electrolysis procedure. This study confirmed that an enrichment process of approximately ten- to fortyfold of the initial concentration of the tritium could be achieved using the electrolysis process with the fabricated electrolytic cells. The simple design and fabrication of the electrolysis process by controlling various parameters make it affordable to measure low-level tritium using a conventional LSC. Various statistical analyses confirmed the accuracy and precision of the data obtained by the electrolysis process. This enrichment technique would prove valuable in regions where tritium levels in groundwater are extremely low, making them challenging to detect using conventional liquid scintillation counter.

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“…Recently, a susceptible method was developed using electrolysis enrichment and ultralow-level LSC to detect low levels of tritium in seawater samples. 15 In our previous study, we estimated the radon level in groundwater [16][17][18] and aimed to measure the tritium activity in groundwater. Therefore, an enrichment process with 13 electrolytic cells was designed and fabricated following IAEA instructions in our laboratory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrolytic Process for Concentrating Trace Tritium in Water for Tritium Activity Measurement by Liquid Scintillation Counter

Mamun

2023

SCE

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In arid regions, the water contains very low levels of tritium, which cannot be detected by conventional liquid scintillation counters (LSC). For the evaluation of the tritium activity concentration, it is crucial to enrich the low-level tritium of groundwater with a known factor. To address this, we developed an electrolysis process with specially designed electrolytic cells following the guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA). The electrolysis process enriched nine spiked samples with known quantities of tritium, and the tritium activity concentration was measured by a scintillation counter. The enriched water showed comparable activity levels to the spiked samples. In addition, the enrichment factor and tritium activity are correlated. Our study demonstrated that the electrolysis process with fabricated electrolytic cells could achieve an enrichment factor of approximately ten to forty times the initial tritium concentration. The simple design and fabrication of the electrolysis process and its ability to control various parameters make it cost-effective for measuring low-level tritium using a conventional LSC.

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Advancement of a Liquid Scintillation Counter and Semiconductor Alpha Spectroscopy Detector to Estimate the Radon Concentration in Groundwater

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

An Advanced Optimization Method to Minimize the Detection Limit of Liquid Scintillation Counter to Measure Low-Level Tritium Activity in Groundwater

An Advanced Optimization Method to Minimize the Detection Limit of Liquid Scintillation Counter to Measure Low-Level Tritium Activity in Groundwater

Enrichment of Low-Level Tritium in Groundwater via an Electrolysis Process for Liquid Scintillation Counting Applications

Electrolytic Process for Concentrating Trace Tritium in Water for Tritium Activity Measurement by Liquid Scintillation Counter

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