Abstract
One pressing research and development challenge currently facing the nuclear safeguards community is finding an alternative to 3He gas for neutron detection. The high demand for 3He gas for several scientific and global security applications has exceeded the gas supply. 1 This has resulted in the depletion of 3He stockpiles and consequent shortfall in the availability of 3He for conventional neutron detection. As part of finding a viable 3He replacement neutron detection technology for safeguards use, performance requirements specific to safeguards applications must be defined. This article discusses the main detector performance parameters that form nuclear safeguards 3He replacement requirements and provides recommended values for these parameters based on experience with traditional safeguards neutron coincidence counting applications. A 3He replacement detector test program has been established at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) 2 for the evaluation of 3He alternative neutron detection technologies against safeguards-specific performance parameters. Here, the unique features of the LANL test program are also highlighted.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 88-96 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials Management |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - Mar 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |