ABSTRACT
Calibration sources based on the primordial isotope potassium-40 (K) have reduced controls on the source's activity due to its terrestrial ubiquity and very low specific activity. Potassium-40's beta emissions and 1,460.8 keV gamma ray can be used to induce K-shell fluorescence x rays in high-Z metals between 60 and 80 keV. A gamma ray calibration source that uses potassium chloride salt and a high-Z metal to create a two-point calibration for a sodium iodide field gamma spectroscopy instrument is thus proposed. The calibration source was designed in collaboration with the Sandia National Laboratory using the Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) transport code. Two methods of x-ray production were explored. First, a thin high-Z layer (HZL) was interposed between the detector and the potassium chloride-urethane source matrix. Second, bismuth metal powder was homogeneously mixed with a urethane binding agent to form a potassium chloride-bismuth matrix (KBM). The bismuth-based source was selected as the development model because it is inexpensive, nontoxic, and outperforms the high-Z layer method in simulation. Based on the MCNPX studies, sealing a mixture of bismuth powder and potassium chloride into a thin plastic case could provide a light, inexpensive field calibration source.
Subject(s)
Models, Statistical , Potassium Isotopes/analysis , Potassium Isotopes/standards , Scintillation Counting/instrumentation , Scintillation Counting/standards , Sodium Iodide/radiation effects , Calibration/standards , Computer Simulation , Monte Carlo Method , Reference Values , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
A new grass-certified reference material characterized for (137)Cs and (40)K has been issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Characterization of this material was conducted by a group of national metrological institutes and expert laboratories. The paper describes the process for assigning the certified reference value to the material.
