AMS measurements of 14C, 36Cl, and 239/240Pu samples taken in a 'small facility'

The release of nuclear facilities from regulatory control is commonly addressed by demonstrating that con-taminations are below 'clearance values'. AMS is commonly too laborious for a large number of samples, especially if nuclide vectors have been established, but it might be of interest for the release of a so-called 'small facility'. For this case study, a radiochemistry laboratory in Cologne, Germany was chosen. It was known that C-14, Cl-36 as well as 240Pu had been handled openly in this lab. There were no apparent contaminations, i.e., no alpha/beta contaminations that could be detected using a hand-held radiation monitor. Elevated values of C-14 were measured in three, increased values of Cl-36 in all and Pu-239 in only one of the examined samples. All measured activities are well below the release values, but it can be proven that the elements C-14, Cl-36, Pu-239 were handled openly in the 'small facility'.

Automated summary

In this study, a radiochemistry laboratory in Cologne, Germany was chosen as a case study to investigate the release of nuclear facilities from regulatory control. Measurements of the samples showed elevated values of C-14 and Cl-36, but below the release values. It was confirmed that these elements were openly handled in the laboratory.