Automated Radioxenon Sampler Analyzer
Encyclopedia
The Automated Radioxenon Sampler-Analyzer (ARSA) was designed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
in the late 1990s with funding and support from the U.S. Department of Energy. The ARSA system automatically collects and measures radioxenon from the air.
The ARSA system continuously collects xenon
from the air in batch mode, processing approximately 48 m3 in an 8-hour period. The average amount of xenon collected in this period is approximately 2-cc. The xenon gas is then transferred into nuclear detection system consisting of a beta-gamma coincidence spectrometer.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington....
in the late 1990s with funding and support from the U.S. Department of Energy. The ARSA system automatically collects and measures radioxenon from the air.
The ARSA system continuously collects xenon
Xenon
Xenon is a chemical element with the symbol Xe and atomic number 54. The element name is pronounced or . A colorless, heavy, odorless noble gas, xenon occurs in the Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts...
from the air in batch mode, processing approximately 48 m3 in an 8-hour period. The average amount of xenon collected in this period is approximately 2-cc. The xenon gas is then transferred into nuclear detection system consisting of a beta-gamma coincidence spectrometer.
History
The ARSA was designed at PNNL in support of the International Monitoring System of the CTBT.- 1995 - ARSA concept first proven in the laboratory
- 1997 - ARSA underwent a field test at the Environmental Measurements Laboratory in New York City
- 2000 - The ARSA system was sent to Freiburg, Germany to participate in the International Noble Gas ExperimentInternational Noble Gas ExperimentThe International Noble Gas Experiment was formed in 1999 as an informal expert's group of developers of radioactive xenon measurement systems for the International Monitoring System for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty...
- 2000 - The ARSA was adopted by DME corporation for commercialization
- 2002 - The commercialization of the ARSA was transferred to General Dynamics Corporation
- 2003 - The ARSA was sent to Guangzhou, China for further participation in the International Noble Gas Experiment