Specifications for the Underground Facility (building 3425) in the Radiation Detection and Nuclear Sciences complex presently under construction at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory mandate a 30 meters water equivalent shielding for cosmic background attenuation at the 30-foot underground depth of the laboratory. A set thickness of a specified fill material was determined; however a smaller thickness of a higher density material was used for the earthen bunker. Questions arose as to whether this altered configuration met the required shielding specifications. A series of measurements were made to address this concern using a 4”x4”x16” NaI(Tl) detector (Scionix Holland, 3.5N-E2-X). Cosmic ray data were taken at the surface, and at several locations within the underground facility in order to obtain an experimental value for the attenuation of the cosmic radiation. This experimental result was compared with the contracted attenuation.
Revised: November 4, 2009 |
Published: October 1, 2009