ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
K. J. Hofstetter, H. T. Wilson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 2 | March 1992 | Pages 446-451
Safety; Measurement and Accountability; Operation and Maintenance; Application | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29786
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The development of a low-level tritium monitor for aqueous effluents has explored several potential techniques. In one method, a water-immiscible liquid scintillation cocktail was ultrasonically mixed with an aqueous sample to form a water-cocktail dispersion for analysis by liquid scintillation spectrometry. The organic cocktail could then be reused after phase separation. Of the cocktails tested, a toluene-based cocktail showed the highest tritium detection efficiency (7%). In another technique, the sensitivity of various solid scintillators (plastic beads, crushed inorganic salts, etc.) to tritium in aqueous solutions was measured. The most efficient solid scintillator had a 2% tritium detection efficiency. In a third method, a large surface area detector was constructed from thin fibers of plastic scintillator. This detector had a 0.1% intrinsic tritium detection efficiency. While sensitivities of -25 kBq/L of tritium for a short count have been attained using several of these techniques, none can yet reach the environmental level of < 1 kBq/L in aqueous solutions.