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Kossert K, Pommé S, Stolzenberg U. Seasonal variation of background counting rates in liquid scintillation counting. Appl Radiat Isot 2024; 210:111342. [PMID: 38729091 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
A liquid scintillation background sample was measured daily in a custom-built TDCR counter for more than 17 months. The double and triple coincidence counting rates exhibit an annual sinusoidal fluctuation with a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer. Possible correlations with air temperature, air humidity, radon concentration and secondary cosmic radiation were investigated. The observation of a correlation with the ambient dose equivalent rate [Formula: see text] originating from the charged component of secondary cosmic radiation and an anti-correlation with the effective atmospheric temperature Teff suggest that the seasonal fluctuations in the background counting rate may be primarily driven by temporal variations in the muon flux at ground level. Additionally, a correlation was found with the indoor 222Rn concentration in air.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karsten Kossert
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, 38116, Braunschweig, Germany.
| | - Stefaan Pommé
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Geel, Belgium
| | - Ulf Stolzenberg
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, 38116, Braunschweig, Germany
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Abstract
AbstractRadionuclides, whether naturally occurring or artificially produced, are readily detected through their particle and photon emissions following nuclear decay. Radioanalytical techniques use the radiation as a looking glass into the composition of materials, thus providing valuable information to various scientific disciplines. Absolute quantification of the measurand often relies on accurate knowledge of nuclear decay data and detector calibrations traceable to the SI units. Behind the scenes of the radioanalytical world, there is a small community of radionuclide metrologists who provide the vital tools to convert detection rates into activity values. They perform highly accurate primary standardisations of activity to establish the SI-derived unit becquerel for the most relevant radionuclides, and demonstrate international equivalence of their standards through key comparisons. The trustworthiness of their metrological work crucially depends on painstaking scrutiny of their methods and the elaboration of comprehensive uncertainty budgets. Through meticulous methodology, rigorous data analysis, performance of reference measurements, technological innovation, education and training, and organisation of proficiency tests, they help the user community to achieve confidence in measurements for policy support, science, and trade. The author dedicates the George Hevesy Medal Award 2020 to the current and previous generations of radionuclide metrologists who have devoted their professional lives to this noble endeavour.
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Air humidity and annual oscillations in 90Sr/ 90Y and 60Co decay rate measurements. Sci Rep 2022; 12:9535. [PMID: 35680975 PMCID: PMC9184471 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13841-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Parkhomov published decay rate measurements of 90Sr/90Y and 60Co beta decay sources with Geiger-Müller counters which showed annual cyclic deviations with less than 0.2% amplitude from a purely exponential slope. He investigated instrument instability induced by environmental parameters, yet did not find a clear coincidence with local temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity. Parkhomov hypothesised that gravitationally-focussed 'slow' cosmic neutrinos influenced beta decay. In the current work, environmental conditions in the Moscow area at the time of the experiment are presented. There appears to be a resemblance of the shape of the annual 90Sr/90Y decay rate anomalies with the inverse of the absolute air humidity, albeit with an apparent time shift of 0.05-0.15 year. Humidity may have influenced the range of beta particles in air, as well as geometric and electronic properties of the detection set-up, however causality could not be unambiguously demonstrated. The instabilities in the 60Co data were more difficult to correlate with environmental data, except for some similarities with temperature and external dew point.
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Milián-Sánchez V, Iglesias-Martínez ME, Scholkmann F, de Córdoba PF, Castro-Palacio JC, Sahu S, Mocholí A, Mocholí F, Verdú G, Kolombet VA, Panchelyuga VA. Reply to: Role of ambient humidity underestimated in research on correlation between radioactive decay rates and space weather. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2530. [PMID: 35169181 PMCID: PMC8847582 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06179-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Víctor Milián-Sánchez
- Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical and Environmental Safety, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Miguel E Iglesias-Martínez
- Grupo de Modelización Interdisciplinar, InterTech, Instituto Universitario de Matemática Pura y Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain
| | - Felix Scholkmann
- Research Office for Complex Physical and Biological Systems, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Pedro Fernández de Córdoba
- Grupo de Modelización Interdisciplinar, InterTech, Instituto Universitario de Matemática Pura y Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain
| | - Juan C Castro-Palacio
- Grupo de Modelización Interdisciplinar, InterTech, Instituto Universitario de Matemática Pura y Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain.,Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Automation, and Applied Physics, Technical University of Madrid, Ronda de Valencia, 3, 28012, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sarira Sahu
- Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, C.U., A. Postal 70-543, 04510, Mexico, DF, Mexico
| | - Antonio Mocholí
- Traffic Control Systems Group, ITACA Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain
| | - Ferrán Mocholí
- Traffic Control Systems Group, ITACA Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain
| | - G Verdú
- Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical and Environmental Safety, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain.,Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain
| | - Valeriy A Kolombet
- Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow Region, Pushchino, Russia, 142290
| | - Victor A Panchelyuga
- Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow Region, Pushchino, Russia, 142290
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