AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Volume 15 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.3233/AJW-180015
RESEARCH ARTICLE

IXRF Optimization for Harmful Element Detection in Iranian Dust

H.R. Mansourbahmani1 A. Negarestani2 M.R. Rezaie2*
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1 Department of Photonics, Kerman Graduate University of Advanced Technology, P.O. Box 76315–117, Mahan, Iran
2 Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kerman Graduate University of Advanced Technology P.O. Box 76315–117, Mahan, Iran
AJWEP 2018, 15(2), 29–35; https://doi.org/10.3233/AJW-180015
Submitted: 15 September 2017 | Revised: 19 February 2018 | Accepted: 19 February 2018 | Published: 11 May 2018
© 2018 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

Detection of hazardous and radioactive (HR) elements in dust is very important for environment and human  health. About 70 percent of Iran’s climate is arid and semi-arid, and one of the environmental challenges that it faces  includes approaching dust storms from the southern and the western countries that neighbour Iran. Therefore, to solve  this problem, it seems necessary to make a portable device to detect the HR elements of dust to eliminate social  anxiety. In the present study, an isotopic X-ray fluorescence (IXRF) device was optimized to identify HR elements in  dust, which arrive as environmental pollutants from neighbouring countries situated to the west and the south of Iran.  Simulation results have indicated that the elements could be recognized by an IXRF device after the combination of  241Am (26.4 and 59.6 keV) and 57Co (122 keV) as the source. In this device, a scintillation detector was used for the  X-ray spectroscopy of elements. If the CsI(TI) detector that shielded with 1 mm copper, aluminum and tungsten, then  the IXRF device with 1.64 mci 241Am and 57Co mixed source is able to measure the HR elements with low of detection  (LOD) about 10 ppm. Therefore, the optimized IXRF device can be introduced to detect the HR elements in dust.

Keywords
Dust elements
IXRF device
Hazardous
LOD
Radioactive
MCNPX
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing