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Article Dosimetry Year 2001

Predicting long-lived, neutron-induced activation of concrete in a cyclotron vault

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2001

Authors:   Carroll L.
Journal: AIP Conference Proceedings
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1395309
Abstract: Many elements in concrete can become activated by neutrons in a cyclotron vault, but only a few of the activation products are long-lived. The most prominent of these are Eu-152, Eu-154, Co-60, and Cs-134 which build up over time from (n, γ) reactions in trace amounts of stable Europium, Cobalt, and Cesium that are normally present in concrete in concentrations of a few parts per million, or less, by weight. A retrospective analysis of data taken in connection with a previous decommissioning of a cyclotron vault, coupled with independent published data, gives us an estimate of the concentrations of these elements in concrete. With that estimate as a benchmark, we then employ a Monte Carlo Radiation Transport Code to estimate the long-term activation profile in concrete for arbitrary irradiation conditions.