Development and application of an in-situ shipboard device for the measurement of gamma-ray emitters in seawater

Jianhua He; Christos Tsabaris; Wen Yu; Feng Lin

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107137

Development and application of an in-situ shipboard device for the measurement of gamma-ray emitters in seawater

J Environ Radioact. 2023 May:261:107137. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107137. Epub 2023 Feb 23.

Authors

Jianhua He¹, Christos Tsabaris², Wen Yu³, Feng Lin⁴

Affiliations

¹ West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China; The Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China.
² Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 712, GR-19013, Anavyssos, Greece.
³ School of National Safety and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, 519087, China. Electronic address: yuw@bnu.edu.cn.
⁴ The Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China.

PMID: 36841198
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107137

Abstract

An optimized device based on an HPGe detector and an electro-mechanical cooler combined with a small-sized lead shield was developed for flow-through seawater gamma radionuclide measurement. The system was optimized to operate in mobile or underway mode with suitable integration on available ships. The background spectrum, detection efficiency, and the impact of acquisition time on the minimum detectable activity were obtained at sea. The system MDAs in a 1 h acquisition period for ¹³⁷Cs (661.7 KeV) and ⁶⁰Co (1332.5 KeV) in seawater were 0.45 Bq/L and 0.24 Bq/L, and the MDAs in 20 min were 0.73 Bq/L and 0.47Bq/L, respectively. This device could be used as an efficient tool in emergency monitoring in response to a nuclear accident.

Keywords: Gamma radionuclides; High efficient; In-situ measurement; Seawater; Shipboard.

MeSH terms

Radiation Monitoring*
Radioactive Hazard Release*
Seawater
Water Pollutants, Radioactive* / analysis

Substances

Water Pollutants, Radioactive