• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4246-4251
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• 2023

The optimized design of a Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) system, including Delayed Gamma NAA (DGNAA) and Prompt Gamma NAA (PGNAA), has been proposed in this research based on Mevex Linac with 5 MeV electron energy and 50 kW power as a neutron source. Based on the MCNPX 2.6 simulation, the optimized configuration contains; tungsten as an electron-photon converter, BeO as a photoneutron target, BeD₂ and plexiglass as moderators, and graphite as a reflector and collimator, as well as lead as a gamma shield. The obtained thermal neutron flux at the beam port is equal to 2.06 × 10⁹ (# /cm².s). In addition, using the optimized neutron beam, the detection limit has been calculated for some elements such as H-1, B-10, Na-23, Al-27, and Ti-48. The HPGe Coaxial detector has been used to measure gamma rays emitted by nuclides in the sample. By the results, the proposed system can be an appropriate solution to measure the concentration and toxicity of elements in different samples such as food, soil, and plant samples.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.443-449
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• 2023

KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) is conducting research and development of large-scale radiation generators and the latest radiation measuring instruments. In particular, research and development of security screening equipment using an electron beam accelerator and a neutron generator is in progress recently. Globally, 20 ft containers are used to transport imports and exports, and electron beam accelerators are radiation sources to measure the shape of the material inside the container during customs inspections in each country. KAERI is developing a device that can use an electron beam accelerator and a neutron generator sequentially to grasp the shape of various materials as well as the location of the internal target material. In this study, when using the neutron generator, the radiation dose and the degree of activation by neutron for the facility and surrounding environment, facility equipment were simulated using MCNP and FISPACT code. As a result, the shielding structures inside and outside the radiation control area were satisfactory to the reference level established conservatively based on the Korean Nuclear Act.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.141-145
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• 2017

Background: The concrete walls inside the vaults of cyclotron facilities are activated by neutrons emitted by the targets during radioisotope production. Reducing the amount of radioactive waste created in such facilities is very important in case they are decommissioned. Thus, we proposed a strategy of reducing the neutron activation of the concrete walls in cyclotrons during operation. Materials and Methods: A polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet (30 wt% of B and 2.5 mm in thickness) were placed in front of the wall in the cyclotron room of a radioisotope production facility for pharmaceutical use. The target was Xe gas, and a Cu block was utilized for proton dumping. The irradiation time, proton energy, and beam current were 8 hours, 30 MeV, and $125{\mu}A$, respectively. To determine a suitable thickness for the polyethylene plate set in front of the B-doped Al sheet, the neutron-reducing effects achieved by inserting such sheets at several depths within polyethylene plate stacks were evaluated. The neutron fluence was monitored using an activation detector and 20-g on de Au foil samples with and without 0.5-mm-thick Cd foil. Each Au foil sample was pasted onto the center of a polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet, and the absolute activity of one Au foil sample was measured as a standard using a Ge detector. The resulting relative activities were obtained by calculating the ratio of the photostimulated luminescence of each foil sample to that of the standard Au foil. Results and Discussion: When the combination of a 4-cm-thick polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet was employed, the thermal neutron rate was reduced by 78%. Conclusion: The combination of a 4-cm-thick polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet effectively reduced the neutron activation of the investigated concrete wall.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.525-532
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• 2016

High-energy linear accelerators are increasingly used in the medical field. However, the unwanted photo-neutrons can also be contributed to the dose delivered to the patients during their treatments. In this study, neutron fluxes were measured in a solid water phantom placed at the isocenter 1-m distance from the head of an18-MV linac using the foil activation method. The produced activities were measured with a calibrated well-type Ge detector. From the measured fluxes, the total neutron fluence was found to be $(1.17{\pm}0.06){\times}10^7n/cm^2$ per Gy at the phantom surface in a $20{\times}20cm^2$ X-ray field size. The maximum photo-neutron dose was measured to be $0.67{\pm}0.04$ mSv/Gy at $d_{max}=5cm$ depth in the phantom at isocenter. The present results are compared with those obtained for different field sizes of $10{\times}10cm^2$, $15{\times}15cm^2$, and $20{\times}20cm^2$ from 10-, 15-, and 18-MV linacs. Additionally, ambient neutron dose equivalents were determined at different locations in the room and they were found to be negligibly low. The results indicate that the photo-neutron dose at the patient position is not a negligible fraction of the therapeutic photon dose. Thus, there is a need for reduction of the contaminated neutron dose by taking some additional measures, for instance, neutron absorbing-protective materials might be used as aprons during the treatment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.299-303
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• 2016

Prompt gamma activation analysis using a thermal neutron-guided beam at Japan Atomic Energy Agency JRR-3M was applied for the precise determination of Si in silicon nitride ceramic reference materials [Japan Ceramic Reference Material (JCRM) R 003]. In this study, the standard addition method coupled with internal standard was used for the nondestructive determination of Si in the sample. Cadmium was used as internal standard to obtain the linear calibration curves and to compensate for the neutron beam variability. The analytical result of determining Si in JCRM R 003 silicon nitride fine powder ceramic reference materials using prompt gamma activation analysis was in good agreement with that obtained by classical gravimetric analysis. The relative expanded measurement uncertainty (k = 2) associated with the determined value was 2.4%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.4329-4334
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• 2023

In this research, a prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) system is designed and constructed based on the use of a low power research reactor. For this purpose, despite the fact that this reactor did not include beam tubes, a thermal neutron beam line is installed inside the reactor tank. The extraction of the beam line from inside the tank made it possible to provide the neutron flux from the order of 106 n.cm^-2.s^-1. Also, because the beam line is installed in a tangential position to the reactor core, its gamma level has been minimized. Also, a suitable radiation shield is considered for the detector to minimize the background radiation and prevent radiation damage to the detector. Calculations and measurements are done in order to characterize this system, as well as spectrometry of several samples. The results of evaluations and experiments show that this system is suitable for performing PGNAA.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.1036-1044
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• 2023

The combination of MCNP6 and the FISPACT codes was used to predict inventories of radioisotopes produced by neutron exposure of a sample in a research reactor. The detailed MCNP6 model of the Budapest Research Reactor and the specific irradiation geometry of the NAA channel was established, while realistic material cards were specified based on concentrations measured by PGAA and NAA, considering the precursor elements of all significant radioisotopes. The energy- and spatial distributions of the neutron field calculated by MCNP6 were transferred to FISPACT, and the resulting activities were validated against those measured using neutron-irradiated small and bulky targets. This approach is general enough to handle different target materials, shapes, and irradiation conditions. A general agreement within 10% has been achieved. Moreover, the method can also be made applicable to predict the activation properties of the near-vessel concrete of existing nuclear installations or assist in the optimal construction of new nuclear power plant units.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.328-332
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• 1997

In order to investigate the trace metals in Korean foods, the contents of Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese, Molybdenum and Selenium are studied in this paper. As show in the Table 1; a total of 250 samples of 25 species were analyzed by neutron activation analysis. The results obtained were as follows; 1. The overall ranges and mean (mg/100 g) were; Mg, 12.212∼151.346(55.164); Zn, 0.045∼38.180 (2.473); Mn, 0.003∼0.796 (0.225);Mo, ND∼0.035 (0.007); Se, ND∼0.069 (0.016). 2. The levels of all metals except Mo in shell fishes were high and the level of Mo in spices was higher than that in other foods. 3. The levels of Zn and Mo in oyster were higher than another spcies.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.520-528
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• 2005

Two biological Certified Reference Materials (CRMs), KRISS 108-04-001 (oyster tissue) and 108-05-001 (water dropwort stem), were prepared by Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)during FY '01. The certified values of these materials had been determined by Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry (IDMS) for six elements (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn). Additional analytical works are now progressing to certify the concentrations of a number of the environmental and nutrimental elements in these CRMs. The certified values in a CRM are usually determined by using a single primary method with confirmation by other method(s) or using two independent critically-evaluated methods. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) plays an important role in the determination of certified values as it can eliminate the possibility of common error sources resulting from sample dissolution. In this study INAA procedure was used in determination of 23 elements in these two biological CRMs to acquire the concentration information and the results were compared with KRISS certified values.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.1349-1354
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• 2018

Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) is widely used for the determination of trace elements in geological samples in Iran. In this paper, we have calculated the detection limits of neutron activation analysis (NAA) for some of the common elements in such samples utilizing the ORIGEN and MCNP codes and verified the simulations using the experimental results of three soil standard reference materials, namely, G02.SRM, G18.SRM, and G28.SRM. The results show that while the detection limit of ICP-AES method is usually in the mg/kg range, it is represented to the ${\mu}g/kg$ range for most of the elements of interest using the NAA method, and the simulations can be verified in a tolerance range of 20%.