• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1667-1671
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• 2024

This paper presents a neutron/gamma detector based on a micropixel avalanche photodiode and a plastic scintillator that monitors the status of the accelerator-driven intense resonance neutron source (IREN) facility by measuring the neutron/gamma intensity in the target hall. The electronics of the neutron/gamma detector has been designed and developed. The size of the plastic scintillator was selected to be 3.7 × 3.7 × 30 mm³ due to the sensitive area of the MAPD. The experimental results demonstrated a dependence between the count rate of the detector and the frequency of the accelerator. The detector is sensitive to intermediate and fast neutrons. The minimum detectable energy was determined to be 200 keV using Cs-137 point gamma source. The maximum counting rate of the detector from TTL out is about 2.2⋅10⁶ counts/sec, but for analogue output it is about 2⋅10⁷ counts/sec. The detector can not allow discriminating neutrons and gamma rays by charge integration method.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.217-222
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• 2008

$BaCl_2$ crystals were grown by using the Czochralski method, and their scintillation properties were measured. The emission spectrum was located in the range of $370{\sim}450$ nm, peaking at about 400 nm. The fluorescence decay time was approximately 75.9 ns for 662 keV ${\gamma}$-rays excitation. The energy resolution was about 24.4 % for $^{137}Cs$ 662 keV ${\gamma}$-rays, and the ${\alpha}/{\beta}$ ratio to $\alpha$ particles from a $^{210}Po$ 5.4 MeV was about 0.25.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.143-151
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• 2022

Background: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, biological alterations in the natural biota, including morphological changes of fir trees in forests surrounding the power plant, have been reported. Focusing on the terminal buds involved in the morphological formation of fir trees, this study developed a method for estimating the absorbed radiation dose rate using radionuclide distribution measurements from tree organs. Materials and Methods: A phantom composed of three-dimensional (3D) tree organs was constructed for the three upper whorls of the fir tree. A terminal bud was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations for the absorbed dose rate of radionuclides in the tree organs of the whorls. Evaluation of the absorbed dose targeted ¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs, and ¹³⁷Cs, the main radionuclides subsequent to the FDNPP accident. The dose contribution from each tree organ was calculated separately using dose coefficients (DC), which express the ratio between the average activity concentration of a radionuclide in each tree organ and the dose rate at the terminal bud. Results and Discussion: The dose estimation indicated that the radionuclides in the terminal bud and bud scale contributed to the absorbed dose rate mainly by beta rays, whereas those in 1-year-old trunk/branches and leaves were contributed by gamma rays. However, the dose contribution from radionuclides in the lower trunk/branches and leaves was negligible. Conclusion: The fir tree model provides organ-specific DC values, which are satisfactory for the practical calculation of the absorbed dose rate of radiation from inside the tree. These calculations are based on the measurement of radionuclide concentrations in tree organs on the 1-year-old leader shoots of fir trees. With the addition of direct gamma ray measurements of the absorbed dose rate from the tree environment, the total absorbed dose rate was estimated in the terminal bud of fir trees in contaminated forests.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.600-604
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• 2011

In this paper, the scintillation properties of $LaCl_3:Eu^{2+}$ crystal were investigated as new scintillator. This scintillation material was grown by a Czochralski method. $LaCl_3:Eu^{2+}$ was determined to have a hexagonal $P_63$/m space group with cell parameters a = b = $7.48{\AA}$, c = $4.37{\AA}$. Under 335 nm UV excitation, the crystal shows a broad emission band between 370 nm and 640 nm wavelength range, peaking at 430 nm. At room temperature, the crystal exhibits one exponential decay time component. The component of scintillation time profile of the crystal emission decays with a $2.82{\pm}0.72{\mu}s$ time constant. The energy resolution of the crystal was measured to be 8.8% (FWHM) for $^{137}Cs$ 662 keV ${\gamma}$-rays.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.545-552
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• 2002

We developed an ultra low background gamma ray spectrometer particularly suitable for experiment which require lower detection limit. The background of a germanium spectrometer is suppressed by applying active and passive shielding technique at the same time. The active shielding devices consist of plastic scintillating plates of 50 mm thick and anti-coincidence electronic system. The shielding is made of 150 mm thick walls of very low activity lead,20 mm with activity of <10 Bq/kg and 130 mm with activity of <50 Bq/kg. The observed background count rates are 1.2 $s^{-1}$ and 0.36 $s^{-1}$ without and with the active shielding, respectively, overall the energy regions from 30 keV to 3 MeV The cosmic ray induced background is suppressed by a rate of 0.8 $s^{-1}$ at the present work. The detection efficiency curve necessary to obtain the radioactivity of environmental samples has been precisely determined on the energy regions from 80 to 2000 keV with a 10$^3$ ml marinelli beaker sample, consisting of the calibrated radionuclides $^{109}$ Cd, $^{57}$ CO, $^{139}$ Ce, $^{203}$ Hg, $^{113}$ Sn, $^{85}$Sr, $^{137}$ Cs, $^{60}$ Co and $^{88}$ Y. Virtues Of the method are demonstrated by measuring the activity of $^{137}$ Cs contained in the powdered milk.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.96-100
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• 2015

In the present study, we developed a real-time radiation-monitoring sensor for an underwater radiation-monitoring system and evaluated its effectiveness using reference radiation sources. The monitoring sensor was designed and miniaturized using a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) and a cerium-doped-gadolinium-aluminum-gallium-garnet (Ce:GAGG) scintillator, and an underwater wireless monitoring system was implemented by employing a remote Bluetooth communication module. An acrylic water tank and reference radiation sources ($^{137}Cs$, $^{90}Sr$) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the monitoring sensor. The underwater monitoring sensor's detection response and efficiency for gamma rays and beta particles as well as the linearity of the response according to the gammaray intensity were verified through an evaluation. This evaluation is expected to contribute to the development of base technology for an underwater radiation-monitoring system.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.275-284
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• 2006

In the measurement of gamma rays emitted from the nuclide in the radioactive waste drum, to analyze the nuclide concentration accurately, it is necessary to use the proper calibration standards and to correct for the attenuation of the gamma rays. Two drums having a different density were used to analyze the nuclide concentration inside the drum in this study. After carrying out the system calibration, we measured the gamma rays emitted from the standard source inside the model drum with changing the distance between the drum and the detector. The measured values were corrected with the three kinds of gamma attenuation correction methode, as a results, the error was less than 10 % in the low density drum and less than 25 % in the high density drum. The measured activity in the short distance was more accruable than in the long distance. The transmission correction for the mass attenuation showed good results(very Low error) compared to the mean density and the differential peak correction method.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.203-207
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• 2010

Radiation-induced late injury to normal tissue is a primary area of radiation biology research. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether the late effect of the ionizing radiation appears as an age-related oxidative status in the brain. Three groups of 4-month old C57BL/6 mice that were exposed to $^{137}Cs$ ${\gamma}-rays$ at a single dose (5 Gy) or fractionated doses ($1Gy{\times}5times$, or $0.2Gy{\times}25times$) at 2 months old were investigated for the oxidative status of their brains with both young (2-month) and old (24-month) mice. A significant (p<0.05) decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was observed in old mice brains compared with that of the young mice. malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly (p<0.05) increased in the old mice brain. However, any significant difference in SOD activity and MDA contents of the irradiated brain was not observed compared to age-matched control group mice. SOD activity and MDA content were observed within good parameters of brain aging and there were no late effects on the age-related oxidative level in the ${\gamma}-ray$ irradiated mice brains.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.147-153
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• 1996

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI) conducted a intercomparison study for personnel dosimetry services in Korea to enhance the accuracy and precision of the dosimetry system. Nine types of dosimeters(6 TLD, 3 film badge) from 7 institutions took part in this intercomparison study. Each participant submitted 30 dosimeters including transit control for irradiations. Both TLDs and film badges were irradiated with Cs-137 gamma, Sr/Y-90 beta and 4 X-ray beams in ISO wide series. Four dosimeters were irradiated on phantom with same dose equivalent for each field category. The delivered dose equivalent was in the range of $0.1{\sim}10mSv$. The participants assessed the results of their dosimeter readings in terms of the ICRU operational quantities for personal monitoring, Hp(10) and Hp(0.07). Most participants except 1 dosimeter estimated the delivered dose equivalent with biases less than ${\pm}25%$ for Cs-137 and Sr/Y-90. But for X-rays, the biases exceeded ${\pm}35%$ in some cases bacause the dose evaluation algorithm was based on the ANSI N13.11 X-ray fields which are different from those given by ISO.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.123-131
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• 2018

This study compared PENELOPE with measured values from low energy peak to high energy peak to reduce peak to compton ratio and continuum background spectrum using $^{60}Co$, $^{137}Cs$ and mixed volume source. In addition, the change in backscattering and compton edge efficiency was compared with that of PENELOPE through changes in the vicinity of low energy. The results from the mixed volume source are applied to the soil samples to determine how much the minimum detection limits of the soil samples are reduced in the suppression and unsuppressed mode. The compton suppression of the low energy region of $^{60}CO$ (1,173 keV) was considerable, and the Compton edge RF for the $^{137}Cs$ (661 keV) peak was 2.8. In particular, the $^{60}Co$ source emits coincidence gamma rays of 1,173.2 keV and 1,332.5 keV, so compton inhibition was reduced by approximately 21%. RF of compton edges of 1,173 keV and 1,332 keV emitted from a $^{60}Co$ source was 3.2 and 3.4, and the peak to compton edge ratio was improved to 8: 1. And Compared with Penelope, the uncertainty was well within 2%. In compton unsuppressed mode, MDA values of 661 keV, 1,173 keV and 1,332 keV were 0.535, 0.173 and 0.136 Bq/kg, respectively, but decreased in compton suppressed mode to 0.121, 0.00826 and 0.00728 Bq/kg. Thus, Compton suppressed could reduce the background radioactivity and the radioactivity contained in the detector itself.