IP Library Granted Patent US 7,194,360
Granted Patent B2
US 7,194,360 · App. 10/667,448 · Granted Mar 20, 2007

Method of determining radioactive nuclides

Assignee: Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,194,360
App. No.
10/667,448
Granted
Mar 20, 2007
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method of simply and quickly determining α-ray releasing nuclides having long half-life without carrying out a chemical separation is provided. By inputting a data of pulses incident to an α-ray detector in a computer, obtaining time distribution of the incident pulses by using a very short time measuring timer and plotting, and fitting the linear originated in a random event corresponding to the background and the non-linear originated in the correlated events of parent nuclides-progenies by using the least squares method, the whole generating probability P (t) from the parent nuclide to the progeny thereof is obtained. By subtracting the random events portion from the P(t), the correlated events portion is extracted. The radioactivity per unit can be obtained by dividing the extracted correlated events portion by the measured time, the amount of the supplied sample and the counting efficiency. Also, by determining nuclides unnecessary for the measurement by this method and removing the determined nuclides from the energy spectra of objective nuclides to thereby lower the background, the objective nuclides can be determined by using pulse-height discrimination.

Claims (7)

1. A method of determining the presence of radioactive nuclides having a long half-life in a sample, without chemical separation of radioactive nuclides having a short half-life from the sample, comprising:

detecting α-rays released from radioactive nuclides in a sample using an α-ray detector over a predetermined time period;

analyzing the detected α-rays by time interval analysis to identify the portion of α-rays released from radioactive nuclides having a short half-life;

subtracting the portion of α-rays released from radioactive nuclides having a short half-life from the detected α-rays to remove background α-rays from the detected α-rays; and

analyzing the remaining α-rays by pulse-height discrimination to determine the presence of radioactive nuclides having a long half-life.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the α-ray detector detects α-rays as incident pulses and transmits such incident pulses as pulse data to a computer for time interval analysis.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the computer analyzes the pulse data and plots a time distribution of the pulse data.

Assignments (1)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 10, 2012
From: JAPAN NUCLEAR CYCLE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
To: JAPAN ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATIVE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 028023/0814 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2000-392010 · Dec 25, 2000 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation 0986677600 · May 30, 2001
Related Publication 20040064289A1 · Apr 1, 2004