METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING INTRINSIC RADIOACTIVITY OF RADIOACTIVE SAMPLES

Abstract

A method for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples includes: providing a sample of material to be subjected to a measurement of emission of X photons from radioactive samples, the sample being stratiform and having two main sides; placing one or more semiconductor-type or bolometer-type detectors near one or two of the two main sides of the sample, the detectors having a surface covering the whole or most of the area of the main sides; measuring the emission of X photons, respectively in the presence and in the absence of the sample, for a predetermined time interval; determining the energetic spectrum of the emission of X photons, respectively in the presence and in the absence of the sample, by measuring the number of counts produced by the emission; subtracting the measurement of the number of counts in the absence of the sample from the measurement of the number of counts in the presence of the sample, thus obtaining a useful measurement of the number of counts; estimating the X-ray detection efficiency with reference to the one or more detectors, the sample, and the energetic spectrum; determining the branching ratio (BR) of each row of the emission of X photons; determining the intrinsic radioactivity as a weighted mean value of the number of counts with respect to the measured values of detection efficiency and branching ratio within the time interval taken into account.

Claims

1. A method for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples, a measurement of emission of X photons from said radioactive samples, and that it comprises the following steps: providing a sample of material to be subjected to a measurement of emission of X photons from said radioactive samples, said sample being stratiform and having two main sides, placing one or more semiconductor-type or bolometer-type detectors near one or two of said two main sides of the sample, said detectors having a surface covering the whole or most of the area of said main sides; measuring said emission of X photons, respectively in the presence and in the absence of said sample, for a predetermined time interval; determining the energetic spectrum of said emission of X photons, respectively in the presence and in the absence of said sample, by measuring the number of counts produced by said emission; subtracting said measurement of the number of counts in the absence of the sample from said measurement of the number of counts in the presence of the sample, thus obtaining a useful measurement of the number of counts; estimating the X-ray detection efficiency with reference to said one or more detectors, said sample, and said energetic spectrum; determining the branching ratio (BR) of each row of said emission of X photons; determining said intrinsic radioactivity as a weighted mean value of said number of counts with respect to the measured values of detection efficiency and branching ratio within said predetermined time interval.

2. The method for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor is planar silicon or planar germanium.

3. The method for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 1, wherein said one or more detectors are efficient within the energy region of interest from 5 keV to 30 keV, with an energetic resolution <500 eV FWHM.

4. The method for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 1, wherein said one or more detectors have a surface 10 cm.sup.2.

5. The method for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 1, wherein said weighted mean value (Specific activity) is evaluated by means of the relation: $\mathrm{Attivit}.Math..Math.\mathrm{specifica}=\mathrm{Specific}.Math..Math.\mathrm{activity}$ $\mathrm{Attivit}.Math..Math.\mathrm{Specifica}.Math.\left[\frac{\mathrm{Bq}}{\mathrm{kg}}\right]=\frac{\frac{\mathrm{CountSig}}{t_s}-\frac{\mathrm{CountBack}}{t_B}}{m.Math.\mathrm{.Math.}.Math.\mathrm{BR}}$ where: CountSig represents the integral of the counts relating to each row of said emission of X photons (in the presence of the sample); CountBack represents the integral of the background counts within the same energy region as the X peak CountSig (in the absence of the sample); t.sub.S and t.sub.B are the sample and background measurement times; m is the mass of the sample to be analyzed; is said X-ray detection efficiency; BR is said branching ratio.

6. The method for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined time is comprised in the range of 500 seconds to 1 day of measurement.

7. An apparatus adapted for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples, wherein it is adapted to carry out a measurement of emission of X photons from said radioactive samples, and in that it comprises: one or more semiconductor-type or bolometer-type detectors, said one or more detectors being operationally brought near one or two main sides of a sample of material to be subjected to said measurement of emission of X photons, said sample being stratiform and having said two main sides, said one or more detectors having a surface covering the whole or most of the area of one or two of said main faces; means adapted to measure said emission of X photons, respectively in the presence and in the absence of said sample, for a predetermined time interval; means adapted to carry out in a time interval taken into account, operations for: determining the energetic spectrum of said emission of X photons, respectively in the presence and in the absence of said sample, by measuring the number of counts produced by said emission; subtracting said measurement of the number of counts in the absence of the sample from said measurement of the number of counts in the presence of the sample, thus obtaining a useful measurement of the number of counts; estimating the X-ray detection efficiency with reference to said one or more detectors, said sample, and said energetic spectrum; determining the branching ratio (BR) of each row of said emission of X photons; determining said intrinsic radioactivity as a weighted mean value of said number of counts with respect to the measured values of detection efficiency and branching ratio within said time interval taken into account.

8. The apparatus for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 7, wherein said semiconductor is planar silicon or planar germanium.

9. The apparatus for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 7, wherein said one or more detectors are efficient within the energy region of interest from 5 keV to 30 keV, with an energetic resolution of <500 eV FWHM.

10. The apparatus for detecting intrinsic radioactivity of radioactive samples according to claim 7, wherein said one or more detectors have a surface 10 cm.sup.2.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0032] Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof (and of variants thereof) and with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are merely illustrative and non-limiting, in which:

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a first variant of a scheme of an apparatus for determining the energetic spectrum of the present invention which involves the use of a single large area detector with high energy resolution, applied to a side of the sample being measured;

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a second variant of a scheme of an apparatus for determining the energetic spectrum of the present invention which involves the use of two large area detectors with high energy resolution, applied to both sides of the sample being measured;

[0035] FIG. 3 shows a logical-functional block diagram of the apparatus for detecting radioactive elements object of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0036] The method that has been developed and tested comprises estimating concentrations of these isotopes (of transuranic elements) through the detection of X-rays subsequent to their decay. Isotopes such as .sup.238Pu, .sup.239Pu, .sup.240Pu, .sup.235U alpha decay, with subsequent emission of low BR photons (10.sup.3%), the X-rays emitted have BR in the order of a few percent to tens percent.

[0037] Using the probability of X-ray emission resulting from the decay of these isotopes it is possible to make measurements quickly and with sensitivity that allow achieving the levels required by international standards.

[0038] In order to carry out these measurements it is necessary to use detectors that have high efficiency in the energy region of interest from 5 keV to 30 keV, a good energetic resolution, preferably <500 eV FWHM, the possibility to be easily transportable as well as having large input windows, i.e. front surfaces that allow the radiation to reach the active detector volume. The latter requirement is particularly critical because of the short path that an X photon with energy of the order of 10 keV can travel within the material where it is generated, and therefore, in fact, only a small thickness, typically less than 2 cm, of material directly facing the detector can allow acceptable measurement sensitivity without chemically pretreating the sample to be analyzed. This technique is non-destructive and therefore easy to use.

[0039] The two requirements, i.e. large surface area and high energetic resolution, involve a specific choice of the detectors to be used in this field in addition to requiring sophisticated analysis tools for the correct determination of the absolute measurement efficiency: an incorrect determination of the latter could lead to gross errors in the quantitative determination of radioactive contaminants.

[0040] In order to comply with the above requirements, semiconductor or bolometric detectors are used which allow reaching also the low energy thresholds required for the identification of characteristic X-rays. It has been demonstrated that through the use of large area planar germanium detectors, the expected results can be obtained with a sensitivity far below the clearance levels that are set by the control bodies in charge. The same result can be achieved using specific large area planar silicon detectors; namely, a multiplicity of detectors can also be used, such as placed side-by-side, in order to maximize the measurement surface.

[0041] X-ray detection procedure for determining the specific radioactivity of a sample, object of the invention, uses a measurement apparatus comprising means for the execution of the method of the invention, in particular: [0042] One (FIG. 1) or two (FIG. 2) detectors, facing one or two sides of the sample to be measured, respectively; [0043] One or more electronic amplifiers; [0044] One or more analog-to-digital converters (ADC) associated with multichannel analysis (MCA) devices for counting the events; [0045] Data acquisition system DAQ and signal processing means; [0046] Sample container or dedicated compartment.

[0047] A non-limiting embodiment example of the apparatus will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 3.

[0048] The detectors of the invention may be different types of detectors, such as semiconductor or bolometric, provided they have a high energetic resolution not higher than 0.5 keV FWHM, in the energy range of between 5 and 30 keV.

[0049] If two or more detectors are used, these can be positioned either interfaced with the sample or side by side in order to increase the total detection area. The detectors must have a large input surface for the X photons emitted by the decay to be studied, preferably surfaces equal to or larger than 10 cm.sup.2.

[0050] At the same time, the detectors must have a very thin dead layer on the input window, i.e. a thin thickness (<1 m) of material that does not contribute to the detection of the radiation on the entire front surface of the detector, so as to only minimally attenuate the passage of particles.

[0051] The measurement procedure involves a series of steps to obtain the concentration of each radioactive elements present in the sample being investigated as the end result. Said procedure comprises the following main steps:

1. Sample measurement using the general schemes as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to produce an energy spectrum of the X photons emitted by the sample.
2. Measurement of the radioactive measurement background using the previous scheme but in the absence of the sample to determine an energetic spectrum due to the intrinsic radioactive background of the measurement apparatus, said resulting spectrum is to be subtracted from the result of step 1.
3. Analysis of the energetic spectra, produced at the previous steps 1 and 2, through a program suitable for determining the number of counts produced by each individual X emission for each radioactive element (isotope) considered.

[0052] In non-limiting embodiment examples, known analysis programs can be used, such as: GammaVision and Maestro (ORTEC), Genie (Canberra), adapted to transform the captured data in a column chart.

4. Digital computer simulation to determine, given the detector, the sample and the energetic spectra of X-rays, measurement of X-ray detection efficiency by the detection system in the configuration considered.

[0053] In non-limiting embodiment examples, known simulation software programs may be used (such as Montecarlo), adapted to track the trajectories of particles and their interaction with matter, determining for each of the particles generated the energy released within the various volumes described in the measurement system consisting of the detector and the sample that serves as the source. This allows determining the distribution of energy released into the detector by a known source within the sample and definite energy. This enables the direct reconstruction of the measurement efficiency of particles emitted by the source, the geometry of the measurement apparatus and the energy of the emitted particles being defined.

5. Determination of the branching ratio (BR) of each X row considered; said values are known and shown in tables and BR data available and tabulated on reference bibliography and Internet websites (such as www.lbl.gov, http://ie.lbl.gov/toi/), which show the energies of X photons emitted during the decay of the radioisotopes and the respective BR values.
6. Determination of the intrinsic radioactivity (specific activity) present in each sample and for each radioisotope considered, as a weighted average of the number of counts with respect to the measurement and branching-ratio efficiency values in the time unit considered. This determination can be summarized in the following relation:

[00001]$\mathrm{Attivit}.Math..Math.\mathrm{specifica}=\mathrm{specific}.Math..Math.\mathrm{activity}$$\mathrm{Attivit}.Math..Math.\mathrm{Specifica}.Math.\left[\frac{\mathrm{Bq}}{\mathrm{kg}}\right]=\frac{\frac{\mathrm{CountSig}}{t_s}-\frac{\mathrm{CountBack}}{t_B}}{m.Math.\mathrm{.Math.}.Math.\mathrm{BR}}$

Where:

[0054] CountSig represents the integral of the counts relating to the single X row (in the presence of the sample); [0055] CountBack represents the integral of the background counts within the same energy region as X row CountSig (in the absence of the sample); [0056] t.sub.S and t.sub.B are the sample and background measurement times; [0057] m is the mass of the sample to be analyzed; [0058] is the measurement efficiency of the apparatus determined by numerical simulation; [0059] BR is the Branching Ratio that tells us the probability of emission of a photon following decay.

[0060] All of the above parameters originate from measurements of the sample and of the background, from numerical simulations, from the measurement of the sample mass and from nuclear tables that allow determining the BR.

[0061] The final analysis provides the combination of all rows for a given radioisotope, in other words each row provides an activity for the sample. Since multiple rows are related to the same element, once the activity is obtained, an average (with appropriate weights) of the data obtained is produced, properly taking into account any errors on the values obtained. In particular, steps 1 and 2 of the procedure are the signal and background acquisition steps for a predetermined time and can also be inverted in the order.

[0062] Said predetermined time preferably falls within the range of between 500 seconds and 1 day but can be appropriately set by the man skilled in the art according to the specific features of the measurement system, including the activities and the size of the sample to be measured.

[0063] According to the method of the invention, the sample to be analyzed will not undergo any chemical pretreatment but will be simply placed in dedicated sample holders that will then be placed in correspondence of one or more detectors. The total sample mass will not be large but will be arranged so as to cover the largest possible surface, thereby taking a substantially stratiform shape with two main sides. The average thickness of the sample may be extremely thin, a large thickness albeit possible does not produce an actual increase in sensitivity.

[0064] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sample is characterized by an area of the main sides 10 cm.sup.2 and by a thickness 1 cm.

[0065] In case of solid material, a surface at least equal to or larger than that of the detector(s) is exposed;

[0066] In case of liquid or powder material, a plastic container can be used with low Z (preferably <20), low density (preferably <1 g/cm3) (e.g. low density polyethylene) with a height of preferably less 2 cm and a total surface at least equal to or greater than that of the detector(s). The walls of such containers will preferably have a thickness equal to or smaller than 0.5 mm.

[0067] As regards the determination of the measurement efficiency, the following factors shall be taken into account: energy of X row emitted by the radioisotope, matrix within which the radioisotope is dispersed, sample shape, density and physical form (solid, powder or other) thereof.

[0068] This determination can be made, as mentioned above, by appropriate simulators that carry out a virtual reconstruction of what in reality represents the actual measurement. Therefore, all the information that allows virtually reconstructing the value measured has to be entered in the simulator. The measurement system for an operator is defined once and for all (detector type and relative position in space), what changes each time is the sample and must state which photon energies it intends to simulate, then the simulator propagates the physics to virtually reconstruct the measurement.

[0069] The probability of having a sum of rows is very low because the single row should be observed and only with very high event rates there would be the appearance of sum rows. Upon emission, each X row is a single row.

[0070] The result provided by the procedure is the specific activity for a given sample and a given element obtained from the average of the various rows measured. The information about the composition and other data of the sample is already included in the determination of the parameters of interest and do not count for the final result. What an operator wants to know is how radioactive is, per unit mass, the sample that he/she measured: this, he/she wants to know its specific radioactivity.

[0071] With this approach, it is possible to ensure sensitivity levels well below 100 Bq/kg, a universally accepted value as a clearance level for the elements up to uranium and transuranium elements considered.

[0072] In a non-limiting embodiment example, the device for detecting radioactive elements object of the invention is organized according to the logical-functional block diagram in FIG. 3, reflecting the steps of the method described above.

[0073] Two separate channels are available in a variant, one for assessing the emissions of the source (sample) to be analyzed, the other for assessing the background activity in the absence of the sample, to be subtracted from the measurement in the presence of the sample. However, the same channel may be used at different times, in the absence or in the presence of the sample.

[0074] The detector can consist of a block called large surface x-ray detector, having the features defined above.

[0075] The electronics for pretreating the output signals from the detector includes a preamplifier and a wave shaper and final amplifier of a known type.

[0076] Said electronics provides amplitude values to an A/D converter and ADC/MCA multi-channel analyzer, adapted to provide an output histogram, which shows how many times the input amplitude has been produced, and then it encodes the energy amplitude distribution of the events observed in the analysis time unit. It then performs a conversion of how often the predetermined energy values have been deposited within the detector, in a distribution of amplitudes in the measurement time, with a diagram that shows the energy on the X-axis and the number of times the energy occurred during the measurement time interval on the Y-axis.

[0077] The energetic spectrum block translates the input amplitude spectrum into an energy spectrum.

[0078] The blocks described above carry out the functions of steps 1 and 2 of the method mentioned above.

[0079] The analysis software block carries out the functions described above in step 3 of the method, namely it analyzes the spectrum generated by the energetic spectrum block and provides output values that are used for the determination of the counting rate of the X rays produced by the sample or by the background activity, respectively.

[0080] The counting rates of the background X rays are subtracted from those produced by the sample. The output provides useful values for the block that carries out the determination of the weighted average.

[0081] The analysis software block analyzes the spectrum generated by the energetic spectrum block, also for the purpose of performing the functions described in step 5 of the method, which are to provide the values to be compared with values present in the databases described above in order to identify the radiation-radionuclide energy values and then determine the branching-ratio values defined above.

[0082] There is a block that performs the simulation useful for calculating the X-ray detection efficiency according to step 4 of the method described above.

[0083] The weighted average block determines said weighted average value based on the data it receives at the inputs relative to the X-ray counting rate, branching-ratio and X-ray detection efficiency values. At the output, you get the determination of the source radioactivity (sample), according to what described above in step 6 of the method. Therefore, the object of the invention is not so much to achieve extreme measurement sensitivity, which is already possible through other measurement techniques, but to provide the operator with a flexible tool that allows rapid screening of samples to be analyzed while ensuring an immediate action whenever in a critical condition.

[0084] These objects are achieved due to the fact that: the treatments on the sample to be analyzed are eliminated, the mass of the sample to be analyzed is small, thus eliminating sometimes significant problems of logistics, the total analysis time can be reduced to the order of the hour, many of the implementable detection systems are transportable and therefore can be installed directly at the sampling points without the need for large laboratory infrastructure. The applicability of the proposed method may be referred to the following cases: [0085] Monitoring of areas affected by radioactive fall-out. [0086] Monitoring and control of areas within nuclear installations. [0087] Measurement of contaminated materials or resulting from the treatment of radioactive waste. [0088] Study of material used for purposes of possible nuclear proliferation, albeit on thin thickness. [0089] Possible application in systems where uranium and transuranic elements are treated. [0090] Measurement of all the radioactive decays that, by emitting mainly low-energy photons, require a high large area detector and high energy resolution.

[0091] The invention is particularly advantageous for the determination of actinides; X-rays resulting from the alpha decays of these radioisotopes are emitted with relatively high BR, such as to allow the determination of their concentration in the sample in a few hours of collecting data with high sensitivity.

[0092] Embodiment variants of the non-limiting example described are possible without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, comprising all the equivalent embodiments for a man skilled in the art.

[0093] The elements and the features shown in the different preferred embodiments may be combined without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0094] From the above description, the man skilled in the art is able to implement the object of the invention without introducing any further construction details.