[ RadSafe ] Background from Static Electricity in Tritium counters

[Felipe Gaitan]

Dear Radsafers,

Does any body have a suggestion for minimizing the effects of static 
electricity in tritium counters?

I'm using glass vials.  The effect has become obvious since the 
weather turned cold and subsequently the air became drier.  I can 
measure the background slowing decreasing over a couple of days as 
long as I leave the vial in the counter.  As soon as I take it out 
and then put it back, the background counts jump up again, sometimes 
by as much as a factor of two.  It appears to affect some vials and 
not others.

Thanks for your help,

Felipe
-- 
D. Felipe Gaitan, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Impulse Devices, Inc.
13366 Grass Valley Av.  Unit H
Grass Valley, CA  95945
Phone: 530-273-6500 Ext. 112
Fax:  806-498-6731

email: gaitan at impulsedevices.com