Re: Elimination of Background Radiation -Reply

["Franz Schoenhofer" <schoenho@via.at>]

Schoenhofer
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A-1160 Wien
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> Von: Charles Willis <CAW@nrc.gov>
> An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
> Betreff: Elimination of Background Radiation -Reply
> Datum: Montag, 03. November 1997 14:04

>Isotopic separation to reduce the K-40 concentration in the
> potassium makes a significant difference.

Could you please explain, how you reduce K-40 (and the gamma background
from it) in the shielding material - or did I got something wrong? 

> We see little research along these lines because it tends to be costly 

There is a lot of work done in many places, to reduce background for
gamma-spectrometry and special experiments by very sophisticated shieldings
and by going underground. In the USA there are Wogman and Brodzinsky very
active - if I remember correctly the names. In Europe there are many
underground laboratories, in Switzerland, in the Gran Sasso, the most
recent one in Dresden. This technology is so costly and time consuming,
that starting to build such a sophisticated underground laboratory might
not be applicable for a thesis in biology. An approach might be - as
already proposed - to use heavy lead shielding. To reduce the cosmic ray
component the location of a working room in a existing tunnel with at least
tens of meters of low-level rock above or even a cellar in such rock might
help and adaption would not cost much. 

Franz