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Surface and Underground Ultra Low-Level Liquid Scintillation Spectrometry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Wolfango Plastino  and
Lauri Kaihola
Wolfango Plastino*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Roma Tre, via della Vasca Navale, 84, I-00146 Rome, Italy; also: INFN, Section of Roma III, via della Vasca Navale, 84, I-00146 Rome, Italy.
Lauri Kaihola
Affiliation:
PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences, Wallac Oy, P.O.B. 10, FIN-20101 Turku, Finland.
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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Cosmic background and its variation have been removed in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (National Institute of Nuclear Physics) by its 1400-m rock overburden. Stable, high-performance liquid scintillation counting conditions are obtained when any remaining variable components of the environmental background, such as radon, are eliminated. The ultra low-level liquid scintillation spectrometer Quantulus™ has an anti-Compton guard detector (guard for short) that allows monitoring of gamma radiation in the background. The guard detector efficiency in radiocarbon background reduction is 8% in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, while 80% is observed in surface laboratories. Thus, atmospheric pressure variations in surface laboratories cause variation in cosmic radiation flux. The Quantulus anti-Compton detector is highly efficient in detecting cosmic radiation, and the sample count rate remains stable in long-term counting. Also, correlation of sample backgrounds with environmental gamma radiation in various laboratories is examined.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 46 , Issue 1: Proceedings of the 18th International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 1 of 2), Conference Editors: Nancy Beavan Athfield, Rodger J Sparks , 2004 , pp. 97 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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