Testing of a scintillator and fibre optic based radiation sensor

•RadLine® is a small, sleek, real time, beta and gamma radiation detector.•RadLine® performs long range (>1 km), offering benefits over rival short range detector technologies.•Our results establish that the lower bound reading is a dose rate of 0.2 mSvhr−1.•The probe is electrically inactive, can be used underwater, in pipework, and harsh environments.

We describe the optimisation of RadLine®; a small, real time, remotely operated radiation detector, which consists of an inorganic scintillation crystal coupled to a fibre optic cable transporting produced photons to a CCD camera some distance away. RadLine® is tested in a beta and gamma narrow radiation field of 2.4 GBq, from a Caesium-137 (662 KeV) source, at doses rates between 0.125 mSvhr−1 and 10 mSvhr−1. Our results establish that the lower limit of the device corresponds to a dose rate of 0.2 mSvhr−1, constrained by the signal to noise ratio of the instrument. We also demonstrate the process of characterising the RadLine® for utilisation underwater due to its partial electrical inactiveness; and to consider how the instrument might perform in aquatic environments and ultimately in a First Generation Magnox Storage Ponds (FGMSP). The RadLine® brings a marked difference to actual underwater radiation monitoring devices such as; HPGe, CZT and GM detectors, which not only incorporate the whole electronics within and are more bulky, only perform over a short range. The RadLine®’s design offers signification value for intermediate (>100 m) and long range detection.