The Water Neutron Detector
Alexandra (Sasha) Asghari
Abstract Information gathering and dissemination is a crucial aspect of a resilient
society during and after a major disruptive event. Neutron detection is particularly
important when spontaneously fissioning isotopes are present, such as following a
severe nuclear accident. Historically, most neutron detectors have been based on
helium-3. Yet because the supply of helium-3 has greatly diminished in the past
decade, it is of international interest to develop non-helium-3 based neutron
detectors. The Water Neutron Detector (WaND) provides an efficient, non-toxic,
and non-flammable alternative detector method. The WaND system is currently
under investigation for the nondestructive assay of spent nuclear fuel to quantify
plutonium content.
Keywords Nondestructive assay Á Neutron detection Á Water Cherenkov Á IAEA Á
Spent fuel monitoring
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Without an adequate, assured supply of helium-3 (or an effective replacement),
IAEA safeguards in particular (and worldwide safeguards in general) will be significantly impaired. The IAEA Workshop on Requirements and Potential
Technologies for Replacement of helium-3 Detectors in IAEA Safeguards
Applications.
The IAEA has been involved in Japan’s efforts to plan and implement decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. For example, at the
Government of Japan’s request, the IAEA assessed the “Mid-and-Long-Term
Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
A. (Sasha) Asghari (&)
University of California, Berkeley, USA
e-mail: asghari@berkeley.edu
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_21
251
Alexandra (Sasha) Asghari
Abstract Information gathering and dissemination is a crucial aspect of a resilient
society during and after a major disruptive event. Neutron detection is particularly
important when spontaneously fissioning isotopes are present, such as following a
severe nuclear accident. Historically, most neutron detectors have been based on
helium-3. Yet because the supply of helium-3 has greatly diminished in the past
decade, it is of international interest to develop non-helium-3 based neutron
detectors. The Water Neutron Detector (WaND) provides an efficient, non-toxic,
and non-flammable alternative detector method. The WaND system is currently
under investigation for the nondestructive assay of spent nuclear fuel to quantify
plutonium content.
Keywords Nondestructive assay Á Neutron detection Á Water Cherenkov Á IAEA Á
Spent fuel monitoring
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Without an adequate, assured supply of helium-3 (or an effective replacement),
IAEA safeguards in particular (and worldwide safeguards in general) will be significantly impaired. The IAEA Workshop on Requirements and Potential
Technologies for Replacement of helium-3 Detectors in IAEA Safeguards
Applications.
The IAEA has been involved in Japan’s efforts to plan and implement decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. For example, at the
Government of Japan’s request, the IAEA assessed the “Mid-and-Long-Term
Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
A. (Sasha) Asghari (&)
University of California, Berkeley, USA
e-mail: asghari@berkeley.edu
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_21
251