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Touranlou FA, Moghimani M, Marhamati M, Rezaie M. Detection and measurement of radioactive substances in water and food: a narrative review. Ital J Food Saf 2024; 13:11651. [PMID: 38623281 PMCID: PMC11017961 DOI: 10.4081/ijfs.2024.11651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Contamination of food and water with radioactive substances is a serious health problem. There are several methods to detect and measure radioactive materials, some of which have been developed in recent years. This paper aims to discuss the methods of detecting and measuring radioactive substances in food and water. The principles and the advantages and disadvantages of each method have been discussed. The results showed that some of these methods, such as spectrometry γ-ray high-purity germanium, portable radon gas surveyor SILENA, RAD7, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, have a higher sensitivity for detection and measurement. The spectrometry γ-ray high-purity germanium method has attracted more attention than other methods because it can measure a wide range of radionuclides with high resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mitra Rezaie
- Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran
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Flexible liquid light-guide-based radiation sensor with LaBr3:Ce scintillator for remote gamma-ray spectroscopy. NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.net.2022.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Jelinek M, Cip O, Lazar J, Mikel B. Design and Characterisation of an Optical Fibre Dosimeter Based on Silica Optical Fibre and Scintillation Crystal. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:7312. [PMID: 36236411 PMCID: PMC9572585 DOI: 10.3390/s22197312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In nuclear power plants, particle accelerators, and other nuclear facilities, measuring the level of ionising gamma radiation is critical for the safety and management of the operation and the environment's protection. However, in many cases, it is impossible to monitor ionising radiation directly at the required location continuously. This is typically either due to the lack of space to accommodate the entire dosimeter or in environments with high ionising radiation activity, electromagnetic radiation, and temperature, which significantly shorten electronics' lifetime. To allow for radiation measurement in such scenarios, we designed a fibre optic dosimeter that introduces an optical fibre link to deliver the scintillation radiation between the ionising radiation sensor and the detectors. The sensors can thus be placed in space-constrained and electronically hostile locations. We used silica optical fibres that withstand high radiation doses, high temperatures, and electromagnetic interference. We use a single photon counter and a photomultiplier to detect the transmitted scintillation radiation. We have shown that selected optical fibres, combined with different scintillation materials, are suitable for measuring gamma radiation levels in hundreds of kBq. We present the architecture of the dosimeter and its experimental characterisation with several combinations of optical fibres, detectors, and scintillation crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Jelinek
- The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of Technology, Technická 3058/10, 616 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS v. v. i., 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondrej Cip
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS v. v. i., 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Lazar
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS v. v. i., 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Bretislav Mikel
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS v. v. i., 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
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Handheld Magnetic-Compliant Gamma-Ray Spectrometer for Environmental Monitoring and Scrap Metal Screening. SENSORS 2022; 22:s22041412. [PMID: 35214315 PMCID: PMC8963090 DOI: 10.3390/s22041412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 02/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Spotting radioactive material in waste is of paramount importance for environment protection. This is particularly challenging when orphan sources are hidden in scrap metal that shields their activity from the traditional detectors in the portals scanning incoming trucks. In order to address this issue, we present a wireless and compact SiPM-based gamma spectrometer compatible with strong magnetic fields (0.1 T) to be installed in the bore of the lifting electromagnets to scan reduced volumes of metal and thus achieve higher sensitivity. The microcontroller-based instrument provides 11% energy resolution (at 662 keV), an energy range from 60 keV to 1.5 MeV, a max. count rate of 30 kcps, a weight <1 kg, and a power consumption <1 W. The results of its extensive characterization in the laboratory and its validation in the field, including operation in a scrap yard as well as on a drone, are reported.
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Chen K, Ren J, Zhao C, Liao F, Yuan D, Lei L, Zhao Y. High-sensitivity fiber-optic X-ray detectors employing gadolinium oxysulfide composites. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:22578-22592. [PMID: 34266017 DOI: 10.1364/oe.431770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Radiation detection technologies have been applied in broad fields such as security inspection, medical diagnosis, environment monitoring and scientific analysis. Fiber-optic radiation detectors exhibit unique advantages including miniaturization, resistance to water, remote monitoring, and distributable detection. However, the low sensitivity and the high limit-of-detection limit its practical applications. Herein we demonstrated high-performance fiber-optic X-ray detectors with scintillating composites consisting of UV glue and uniformly distributed gadolinium oxysulfide (GADOX) powders. The impacts of the length, thickness and GADOX weight ratio of the composite coating upon the detector performance, were systematically investigated in terms of the generation and the coupling efficiency of radio-luminescence. Besides the high-performance scintillator, the scattering loss and the geometric factor greatly affected the detector performance. A higher sensitivity and lower limit-of-detection could be achieved by increasing the GADOX weight ratio and decreasing the thickness simultaneously. The optimal detector with the highest GADOX weight ratio (70%), exhibited a linear sensitivity to the X-ray dose rate within 31-1575 µGyair/s, and a low limit-of-detection of ∼0.26 µGyair/s at a tube voltage of 120 kV. The mechanism discussed here will provide insightful guidance for further development of fiber-optic radiation detectors and these promising results demonstrate the potential applications of fiber-optic detectors.
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Tsabaris C, Androulakaki EG, Prospathopoulos A, Alexakis S, Eleftheriou G, Patiris DL, Pappa FK, Sarantakos K, Kokkoris M, Vlastou R. Development and optimization of an underwater in-situ cerium bromide spectrometer for radioactivity measurements in the aquatic environment. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2019; 204:12-20. [PMID: 30952051 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Revised: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
A new medium resolution gamma-ray spectrometer consisting of a cerium bromide (CeBr3) crystal (2˝ x 2˝), is developed and optimized for radioactivity measurements in aquatic environments. This apparatus named GeoMAREA (Gamma-ray spectrometer for in-situ Marine Environmental Applications) is designed to control and prevent radio-contaminants in aquatic environments as well as to estimate the variation of natural radionuclides in marine systems for studying oceanographic processes. The system offers activity concentrations in Bq/m3 for detected gamma-ray emitters in the energy range from 150 to 2600 keV, and can provide sequential continuous monitoring data in a stand-alone mode or it can be integrated in stationary/mobile platforms for (near) real-time applications. The photopeak efficiency values were estimated via the MCNPΧ code. Two experimental points were used to validate the theoretical estimations by deploying the system in a water tank with diluted reference sources such us Caesium-137 (137Cs) and Potassium-40 (40K). The system was subsequently deployed in the field along with a conductivity-temperature (CT) sensor, to measure 40K and radon daughters in a region where submarine groundwater discharges (Anavalos, Kiveri, Greece) are present. The experimental calibration data was utilized to provide a first estimation for the background contribution around the photopeak of 40K, attributed to the Cerium Bromide (CeBr3) intrinsic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christos Tsabaris
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece.
| | - Effrossyni G Androulakaki
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece
| | - Aristides Prospathopoulos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece
| | - Stylianos Alexakis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece
| | - Georgios Eleftheriou
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece
| | - Dionisis L Patiris
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece
| | - Filothei K Pappa
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece; National Technical University of Athens, Department of Applied of Mathematic and Physical Sciences, Zografou Campus, Polythechnioupoli, GR-15780, Athens, Greece
| | - Konstantinos Sarantakos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece
| | - Michael Kokkoris
- National Technical University of Athens, Department of Applied of Mathematic and Physical Sciences, Zografou Campus, Polythechnioupoli, GR-15780, Athens, Greece
| | - Rosa Vlastou
- National Technical University of Athens, Department of Applied of Mathematic and Physical Sciences, Zografou Campus, Polythechnioupoli, GR-15780, Athens, Greece
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