Articles (en)

World Metrology Day 2022


World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations.

Metrology, the science of measurement, plays a central role in scientific discovery and innovation, industrial manufacturing and international trade, in improving the quality of life and in protecting the global environment.

The theme for World Metrology Day 2022 is: Metrology in the Digital Era. This theme was chosen because digital technology is revolutionizing our community, and is one of the most exciting trends in society today.

More information on World Metrology Day website.

SPARTE

SPARTE, a FET-H2020 European project, focuses on the detection and activity measurement of tracers related to the nuclear field. Thus, the detection of the elements 85Kr, 133Xe, 3H, 37Ar presenting mainly beta decays is particularly targeted. SPARTE aims at realizing and implementing a radically new detection technique based on high porosity scintillator materials such as aerogels and MOFs (Metal-Organic-Frameworks) designed to enhance the gas-scintillator material interaction. These materials, once optimized, will combine a very fast, efficient and isotropic scintillation, with high sensitivity allowing, beyond detection, to set up metrological methods for low radioactive activities. Dr Benoît Sabot of LNE-LNHB/LMA is in charge of the Work Package dedicated to metrology and the development of instrumentation using these porous scintillators for the reference measurement of radioactive gases.

https://www.sparte-project.eu/

ICRM-LLRMT 2022

 
The LNHB attended the 8th International Conference on Radionuclide Metrology – Low-Level Radioactivity Measurement Techniques (ICRM-LLRMT) hosted by INFN-LNGS on 2-6 May 2022, at Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Assergi, Italy.

 

LSC 2020

 
The LNHB attended the 24th International Conference on Advances in Liquid Scintillation Spectrometry (LSC 2020) organized by Shenzhen Technology University on 18-20 October 2021, on-line and off-line in Chengdu or Shenzhen, China.

ALTECH 2021

The LNHB attended the ALTECH 2021 symposium « Analytical techniques for precise characterization of nano materials » in the framework of the European Materials Research Society (EMRS) Spring Meeting, from May 31 to June 3rd, 2021

Beta spectra measurement
good practice guides and data available

The EMPIR MetroBeta project (15SIB10), coordinated by the LNHB, was completed in 2019. It developed new approaches for measuring beta radiation, ensuring more efficient use of these radiations in applications such as medical diagnostics, nuclear energy management, environmental protection and even neutrino detection in astrophysics (https://www.euramet.org/?news=40%3A1005).

The spectra of the beta-emitting radionuclides and the associated shape factor have been determined with an unprecedented level of accuracy through a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches. The project has also implemented new techniques for detecting beta radiation that allow its energy to be measured more accurately.

The project consortium has published several good practice guides useful for laboratories wishing to implement the various detection technologies developed: magnetic metallic calorimeters, measurement of beta spectra by Si(Li) or solid scintillator crystals.

The data resulting from this project: the BetaShape code for calculating the shape of beta spectra (http://www.lnhb.fr/rd-activities/spectrum-processing-software/) and the spectra themselves (http://www.lnhb.fr/nuclear-data/nuclear-data-table), are also accessible to the entire scientific community.

The complete project description (programme, partners, etc.) as well as the list of publications and presentations, the transcripts of the workshops and the best practice guides can be consulted and downloaded from the dedicated website: http://metrobeta-empir.eu/.

New instrument for comparing primary standards
of pure β-emitting radionuclides

New instrument in BIPM laboratory

This new reference system represents a major breakthrough to ensure the international traceability of the measurements of beta emitting radionuclides.

It is the result of a project conducted under the auspices of the Consultative Committee for Ionizing Radiation. This project brought together experts from the BIPM and various National Metrology Institutes: P. Cassette (LNHB, France), R. Broda (Polatom, Poland), S. Jerome (NPL, UK), K. Kossert (PTB, Germany), H. Liu (NIM, China).

The latest validation studies have been published: Coulon R.M., Broda R., Cassette P., Courte S., Jerome S., Judge S., Kossert K., Liu H., Michotte C., Nonis M. The international reference system for pure β-particle emitting radionuclides: an investigation of the reproducibility of the results, Metrologia, 2020, DOI

More information on BIPM website.