Imaging of alpha emitters in a field environment

Cameras sensitive to ultraviolet light can be applied to detection of open alpha emitting materials. When absorbed in air, alpha particles generate radioluminescence light, which can be used for detection purposes, provided that background lighting levels are adequately low. In this study, three low-light sensitive camera technologies (CCD, EMCCD and ICCD) were utilized in a nuclear facility, and their performance in detecting alpha emitters was investigated. The results show that low read-out noise is essential for the detection of radioluminescence, as it allows short exposure times to be used. The ICCD was found to perform slightly better than the EMCCD in the field, while both cameras enable the detection of MBqlevel alpha activities in 100 s in the test configuration. Overall, the cameras and techniques used in this study are shown to be effective in detecting alpha emitters in a standard glovebox. This technology can be applied in the field of nuclear security, safety and safeguards, when remote detection of alpha emitters is required.JRC.E.7-Nuclear Safeguards and Forensic