Cosmic muon spectrum as a tool for quench correction during nuclear emergency screening of 137Cs in water

Recent nuclear emergencies have indicated a need for fast and reliable screening techniques for the detection of one of the most hazardous fission products 137Cs. In this work fast and efficient LSC method was used to detect and measure the activity of 137Cs in coloured water samples doped with ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salicylate, [Bmim][Sal] which increases detection efficiency via wavelength-shift of Cherenkov photons. The color quench correction curve was obtained and corrected by the Cherenkov counting technique that relies on the shift of the muonic peak channel. The method described in this work is fast and simple, its accuracy is not dependent on sample activity or energies of the emitted beta spectrum. Measured 137Cs activities do not exceed a relative deviation of which is acceptable for screening purposes in case of nuclear accidents.