McIntyre J I, Aalseth C E, Alexander T R, Back H O, Bellgraph B J, Bowyer T W, Chipman V, Cooper M W, Day A R, Drellack S, Foxe M P, Fritz B G, Hayes J C, Humble P, Keillor M E, Kirkham R R, Krogstad E J, Lowrey J D, Mace E K, Mayer M F, Milbrath B D, Misner A, Morley S M, Panisko M E, Olsen K B, Ripplinger M D, Seifert A, Suarez R
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.
J Environ Radioact. 2017 Nov;178-179:28-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.07.013. Epub 2017 Jul 26.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reports on the detection of Ar at the location of an underground nuclear explosion on the Nevada Nuclear Security Site. The presence of Ar was not anticipated at the outset of the experimental campaign but results from this work demonstrated that it is present, along with Ar and Kr in the subsurface at the site of an underground nuclear explosion. Our analysis showed that by using state-of-the-art technology optimized for radioargon measurements, it was difficult to distinguish Ar from the fission product Kr. Proportional counters are currently used for high-sensitivity measurement of Ar and Ar. Physical and chemical separation processes are used to separate argon from air or soil gas, yielding pure argon with contaminant gases reduced to the parts-per-million level or below. However, even with purification at these levels, the beta decay signature of Kr can be mistaken for that of Ar, and the presence of either isotope increases the measurement background level for the measurement of Ar. Measured values for the Ar measured at the site ranged from 36,000 milli- Becquerel/standard-cubic-meter-of-air (mBq/SCM) for shallow bore holes to 997,000 mBq/SCM from the rubble chimney from the underground nuclear explosion.
太平洋西北国家实验室报告了在内华达核安全场址地下核爆炸地点检测到氩的情况。在实验活动开始时并未预期到氩的存在，但这项工作的结果表明，在地下核爆炸地点的地下存在氩，同时还有氪和氡。我们的分析表明，通过使用针对放射性氩测量优化的最先进技术，很难将氩与裂变产物氪区分开来。目前，正比计数器用于对氩和氩进行高灵敏度测量。物理和化学分离过程用于从空气或土壤气体中分离氩，得到纯氩，使污染气体减少到百万分之一水平或更低。然而，即使在这样的净化水平下，氪的β衰变特征也可能被误认为是氩的，并且任何一种同位素的存在都会增加氩测量的背景水平。在该场址测量的氩的测量值范围从浅钻孔的36,000毫贝克勒尔/标准立方米空气（mBq/SCM）到地下核爆炸废墟烟囱的997,000 mBq/SCM。
