Design of an on-line monitoring system for radioactive wastewater

An on-line monitoring system for radioactive wastewater was designed to discriminate the type and concentration of the radionuclides discharged from nuclear facilities. An HPGe semiconductor was used as the detector in the system for continuous monitoring by pumping wastewater. The minimum detectable activity for 137 Cs was 0.4 Bq L −1 after 10 min of measuring wastewater with the system. The system can detect excessive radioactivity in the wastewater and quickly and effectively alert personnel. Based on the experimental measurements and the Monte Carlo simulation, the detection efficiency of the system was calibrated, and an efficiency curve was determined for the energy range from 50 to 2754 keV.