Rapid detection and size determination of PuO2 particles using a charged-particle imaging video monitor system.

A charged-particle imaging video monitor system was constructed and applied to video imaging of the position profile of PuO2 particles on filter paper. The imaging video monitor system consists of a detector head, a silicon intensifier target (SIT) camera, a video frame memory, and a personal computer. The system can display the distribution image of PuO2 particles becoming gradually clearer on a video monitor. The integrated image that is transferred to the computer is analyzed quantitatively for the radioactivity of each PuO2 particle deposited on the filter paper. The system can not only rapidly distinguish PuO2 particle contamination from Rn daughter products, but can also determine the size distribution of the PuO2 particles.