The Second EWGRD Round Robin: Inter-Comparison of ^93mNb Measurements

^a Jacobs Engineering, Gloucester, United Kingdom
^b CEA, Service d’études des réacteurs et de mathématiques appliquées, Université Paris-Saclay, France
^c CEA, DES, IRESNE, DER, Cadarache, F-13108 St-Paul-lez-Durance, France
^d National Centre for Nuclear Research, Radioisotope Centre POLATOM, Poland
^e Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
^f Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary
^g Laboratoire d’Analyses Radiochimiques et Chimiques, CEA, France
^h Research Centre Řež, Czech Republic
ⁱ Kurchatov Institute, Moscow, Russia
^j Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel, CEA, France
^k Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
^l Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia
^m NRG, Netherlands
ⁿ SCK-CEN, Belgium

^* Corresponding author: dean.thornton@jacobs.com

Published online: 2 March 2023

Abstract

Following on from an initial Round Robin inter-comparison of gamma spectrometry measurements reported in 2014, this paper presents the results of the second part of a further Round Robin inter-comparison commissioned in 2018 by the European Working Group on Reactor Dosimetry. The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the level of consistency between different organisations’ measurements of the ⁹³Nb(n,n’)^93mNb reaction, which plays a key role in underwriting reactor dosimetry assessments. To achieve this, measurements of ^93mNb activity were performed by twelve European organisations on six sets of near identical niobium samples, each having its own geometry and tantalum concentration. The samples were provided by CEA, France and irradiated in the MARIA reactor, operated by National Centre for Nuclear Research, Poland. Participants provided their results to an independent referee who collated and compared the data. The inter-comparison has demonstrated agreement to within standard deviations ranging from ±2.2% to ±7.9%, with a tendency for some organisations to measure elevated values. The results of the inter-comparison are presented in an anonymised form together with discussion and conclusions which may be drawn from the exercise.