Design and Operation of the U.S. Radionuclide Noble Gas Laboratory for the CTBTO
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Pure and Applied Geophysics
Design and Operation of the U.S. Radionuclide Noble Gas Laboratory for the CTBTO MICHAEL FOXE,1 THEODORE BOWYER,1 IAN CAMERON,1 MATTHEW COOPER,1 JAMES HAYES,1 DEREK HAAS,2 LANCE LIDEY,1 MICHAEL MAYER,1 JENNIFER MENDEZ,1 and JOHNATHAN SLACK1 Abstract—The International Monitoring System includes a network of radionuclide detectors operated around the world monitoring for nuclear explosions. A key aspect of the International Monitoring System is the verification of the results from the stations. The verification comes through calibration of the systems, and additional validation measurements from certified laboratories. In support of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, there are 16 radionuclide laboratories around the world (with a subset of those laboratories having radioxenon measurement capabilities). We have developed a laboratory system for processing and measuring the radioxenon archive samples from the International Monitoring System. In this paper we describe the design and operation of the laboratory in support of verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Keywords: CTBT, radionuclide.
IMS,
radioxenon,
beta-gamma,
1. Introduction The International Monitoring System (IMS) consists of a network of detectors around the world for the purpose of verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) (Auer et al. 2004). The IMS consists of seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide detector systems. While seismic, hydroacoustic and infrasound detectors see signals that travel at the speed of sound, airborne radionuclide signals can be observed at a much longer time scale (Kebeasy 2008). Additionally, the radionuclide detection systems collect a sample that can undergo a confirmatory measurement later (Bowyer et al. 2002). In order to perform the
1 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA. E-mail: [email protected] 2 University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
confirmatory measurements, the IMS also includes a set of 16 laboratories around the world. The laboratories are operated by States Parties in support of the PrepCom of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and may include both particulate and noble gas capabilities. Radionuclide detector systems monitor for both particulate radionuclides and radioxenon (Xe-135, Xe-133, Xe-133m, Xe-131m) releases (Auer et al. 2004; Miley et al. 1998; Ringbom et al. 2003) with this paper focusing on the radioxenon measurement capabilities. The radioxenon detection systems collect large quantities of air ([ 10 m3) and through a chemistry process extract the xenon to generate stable xenon samples between 1 cm3 and 3 cm3 (Cagniant et al. 2018; Haas et al. 2017; Ringbom et al. 2003). While the chemistry process utilized to isolate and extract the xenon depends on the type of system processing the sample, the air is initially dried and the CO2 removed. The dry air is then processed through a collection medium to per
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