COUNTING ROOM INSTRUMENTS INTRODUCTION
Over the years, nuclear measurement techniques have increasingly moved from the research laboratory to more high volume, routine operations. Systems that were once characterized by walls of interconnected
modules and Ph.D. operators have given way to dedicated
instruments and systems designed to take a specific measurement
on a specific sample to a required sensitivity. Nuclear power plant counting rooms and environmental/bioassay radioanalysis laboratories need to be able to reliably process tens to hundreds of samples a day. Therefore, these labs need automated counting systems that can manage this heavy load with the same accuracy
and precision that dedicated single sample counting systems
provide in a research facility.
Of course, choice is good. A majority of this catalog is still dedicated to describing the individual components that can be combined to make up a spectroscopy or gross counting system. This is important for counting laboratories with special research-oriented counting requirements
that need to “design their own” system, facilities that need to upgrade certain components in their counting chain in a piecemeal fashion, operators who perform in situ measurements in the field, and others who don’t have high sample backlogs and who require an inexpensive, less automated product for their occasional counting needs.
However, if sample throughput is a concern, CANBERRA has
solutions for alpha and gamma spectroscopy as well as gross
alpha, beta and gamma counting. These solutions are more than just collections of detectors, electronics, analyzers and shields. Each instrument is fully integrated and tested at the factory and delivered ready to use. When purchased with the full suite of support
services, the complete solution includes set-up, calibration and operator training.
