• Clean Technology
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.122-131
• /
• 2016

Caesium radioisotopes, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs which come from the atmospheric nuclear tests and discharges from nuclear power plants, are very important to study artificial radioactivity. In this work, in order to lower the minimum detection activity (MDA) we investigated environmental radioactivity according to the Environment Measurement Laboratory procedure by ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³⁴Cs which is similar to chemical and environmental behaviors of ¹³⁷Cs. The environmental soils in high mountain areas near nuclear power plant were collected, and an Ammonium Molybdophosphate (AMP) precipitation method, which showed high selectivity toward Cs⁺ ions, was applied to chemically extract and concentrate Caesium radioisotopes. Radioactivity was estimated by a gamma-ray spectrometry. In gamma energy spectrum, with an increasing of ⁴⁰K radioactivity, it increased the MDA of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs. Therefore, if the natural radionuclides were removed from the soil samples, the MDA of Caesium may be reduced, and the contents of ¹³⁷Cs of in the environmental soils can effectively be estimated. In the standard soil sample of Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, radioactivity of ⁴⁰K was removed more than 84% on average, and the MDA of ¹³⁴Cs was reduced 2 times. The content of ¹³⁷Cs was recovered over 84%. On the other hand, in environmental soils, AMP precipitation method showed removal ratio of ⁴⁰K up to 180 times, which reduced the MDA about 5 times smaller than those of Direct method. ¹³⁷Cs recovery ratio showed from 54.54% to 70.06%. When considering the MDA and recovery ratio, AMP precipitation method is effective for detection of Caesium radioisotopes in low concentration.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.170-175
• /
• 2009

For the emergency radiation monitoring using gamma spectrometry, we should sufficiently survey the background spectra as environmental samples with systematic nuclide identification method. In this study, we obtained the gamma ray energy spectrum using a HPGe gamma spectrometry system from an air sample. And we identified nuclide of the gamma ray energy peaks in the spectrum using two methods -1) Half life calculation and 2) survey for cascade coincidence summing peaks using nuclear data. As the results, we produced the nuclide identification results for the air sample.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.71-81
• /
• 1995

Consecutive brain 〔Tc-99m〕ECD SPECT studies before and after acetazolamide (Diamox) administration have been performed with patients for the evaluation of cerebrovascular hemodynamic reserve. However, the quantitaitve potential of SPECT Diamox imaging is limited as a result of degrading fractors such as finite detector resolution, attenuation, scatter, poor counting statistics, and methods of data analysis. Making physical measurements in phantoms filled with known amounts of radioactivity can help characterize and potentially quantify the sensitivities. However, it is often very difficult to make a realistic phantom simulating patients in clinical situations. By computer simulation, we studied the sensitivities of ECD SPECT before and after Diamox administration. The sensitivity is defined as ($\Delta$N/N)/($\Delta$S/S)$\times$100％, where $\Delta$N denotes the differences in mean counts between post-and pre-Diamox in the measured data, N denotes the mean counts before Diamox in the measure data, $\Delta$S denotes the differences in mean counts between post-and pre-Diamox in the model, and S denotes the mean counts before Diamox in the model. In clinical Diamox studies, the percentage changes of radioactivity could be determined to measure changes in radioactivity concentration by Diamox after subtracting pre-from post-Diamox data. However, the optimal amount of subtraction for 100％ sensitivity is not known since this requires a thorough sensitivity analysis by computer simulation. For consecutive brain SPECT imaging model before and after Diamox, when 30％ increased radioactivity concentrations were assingned for Diamox effect in model, the sensitivities were measured as 51.03, 73.4, 94.00, 130.74％ for 0, 100, 150, 200％ subtraction, respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the partial voluming effects due to finite detector resolution and statistical noise result in a significant underestimation of radioactivity measurements and the amount of underestimation depends on the. ％ increase of radioactivity concentration and ％ subtraction of pre-from post-Diamox data. The 150％ subtraction appears to be optimal in clinical situations where we expect approximately 30％ changes in radioactivity concentration. The computer simulation may be a powerful technique to study sensitivities of ECD SPECT before and after Diamox administration.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.42-46
• /
• 2016

The radioactive iodine ($^{131}I$) presents in the environment through the excrete process of nuclear medicine patients. In the detecting of low level of $^{131}I$ in the public water, the counting uncertainty has an effect on the accuracy and reliability of detecting $^{131}I$ radioactivity concentration. In this study, the contribution of sample amount, radioactivity concentration and counting time to the uncertainty was investigated in the case of public water sample. Sampling points are public water and the effluents of a sewage treatment plant at Sapkyocheon stream, Geumgang river. In each point, 1, 10 and 20 L of liquid samples were collected and prepared by evaporation method. The HPGe (High Purity Germanium) detector was used to detect and analyze emitted gamma-ray from samples. The radioactivity concentration of $^{131}I$ were in the range of 0.03 to 1.8 Bq/L. The comparison of the counting uncertainty of the sample amount, 1 L sample is unable to verify the existence of the $^{131}I$ under 0.5 Bq/L radioactivity concentration. Considering the short half-life of $^{131}I$ (8.03 days), a method for measuring 1 L sample was used. However comparing the detecting and preparing time of 1, 10 L respectively, detecting 10 L sample would be an appropriate method to distinguish $^{131}I$ concentration in the public water.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.53-59
• /
• 2007

Optimal quenching curves have been studied for the accurate analysis of $^{14}C$ in groundwater polluted by reducing efficiency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in liquid scintillation counter (LSC). The quenching parameters (SQP(E)) were measured for ten VOCs such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-(m-,p-)xylene, trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene(PCE), carbon tetrachloride and chloroform. The quenching curves were plotted using $^{14}C$ standard solution and chloroform as a quenching agent. Optimal plotting conditions were determined for standard solution, LSC measuring time and the concentration of chloroform. The quenching effects of chlorinated organic compounds such as TCE, PCE, carbon tetrachloride and chloroform were greater than those of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene). Optimum measuring time was 100 minutes far 7,000 dpm/mL standard solution. A few mL of chloroform should be added for good quenching curves. These quenching curves have good correlation coefficients (> 0.99) and the curves could be applied to accurate analysis of $^{14}C$ in groundwater and tap water.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.5-10
• /
• 2011

Based on basic concept of detection limit, sample measurement time & background measurement time was considered, and MDA values according to background measurement time and sample measurement time in land samples(river soil, surface soil, drinking water, underground water, surface water, pine leaf, mugwort) analysis among environmental samples were compared. Seeing the water sample analysis result, it was shown that most of the samples were not detected, and most of the samples in land specimen analysis showed to be below the detection limit of "Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Announcement Je-2008-28-ho", but $^{137}Cs$ which is one of artificial radioactive nuclide was detected in some samples. It can be traced back to 1950s and 1960s when nuclear tests were carried out in atmosphere and catastrophic Chernobyl atomic power station accident that caused fallouts in the sky, and this is common level of detection that can be observed worldwide. Seeing the result that the $^{134}Cs$(which is a isotope of $^{137}Cs$, and it has relatively short half life) was not detected in all samples, it can be considered it doesn't affect to the operation of atomic power station.

• Proceedings of the KSEEG Conference
• /
• 2005.04a
• /
• pp.228-231
• /
• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 1995.05b
• /
• pp.867-873
• /
• 1995

개방수조형 연구로인 하나로에서 가상적인 채널유동 차단사고에 따른 방사능 방출시의 환경영향을 부지 기상자료 측정결과를 이용하여 고공방출과 지표 면방출의 두가지 경로에 대해 평가하였다. 계산 결과, 지표면방출이 고공방출보다 피폭선량이 크게 나타났으나, 두 경우 모두 제한구역(EAB) 및 저인구지역(LPZ) 경계에서의 피폭선량 허용기준치를 만족하였다. 그리고 비상계획구역은 800 m로 설정하면 적절함을 입증하였다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.237-242
• /
• 1998

The goal of this work was to optimize the liquid scintillation counting techniques for the determination of C-14 in environmental samples such as biological and air samples. Carbon-14 activities in most environmental samples were measured with direct $CO_2$ absorption method. The highest figure of merit was found through the variation of Carbosorb $E^{TM}$ and Permatluor $V^{TM}$ ratio, in the measurement windows. The best condition was 1:1 volume ratio. Average 2.35 g of $CO_2$ was reproducibly absorbed in the 20 ml mixture within 40 min. The counting efficiency determined by repeated analysis of NIST oxalic acid standard and the background count rate were measured to be $58.8{\pm}1.4%$ and $1.88{\pm}0.06\;cpm$, respectively in case of saturated solution. The correction curves of counting efficiency for partially saturated solutions and for saturated solutions with quenching were prepared, respectively. The overall uncertainty of the sample specific activity for near background levels was estimated to be about 7 % for 4 hours counting at 95 % confidence level. The long-term stability of samples has been checked for all the counting techniques over a two week periods, and no apparent change in counting efficiency and background level was found at that time.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.321-328
• /
• 2019

The detection performances of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce) and $CeBr_3$ scintillation detectors, which can be used to rapidly evaluate the major artificial radionuclides deposited on the soil surface in a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, were compared. Detection performance was assessed by calculating the minimum detectable activity (MDA). The detection efficiency of each detector for artificial radionuclides was semi-empirically determined using mathematical modelling and point-like sources having certified radioactivity. The background gamma-ray energy spectrum for MDA evaluation was obtained from relatively wide and flat grassland, and the MDA values of each detector for the major artificial radionuclides that could be released in nuclear accidents were calculated. As a result, the relative MDA values of each detector regarding surface deposition distribution at normal environmental radiation level were evaluated as high in the order of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce), and $CeBr_3$ detectors. These results were compared based on each detector's intrinsic and measurement environment background, detection efficiency, and energy resolution for the gamma-ray energy region of the radionuclide of interest.