Radioxenon standards used in laboratory inter-comparisons

Preparation methods for 133Xe standards of activity concentration and the results of the 2014 133Xe laboratory inter-comparison exercise are described. One element of the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program for laboratories of the International Monitoring System (IMS) will be regular inter-comparison exercises. However, until recently, no activity concentration standards for benchmarking were available. Therefore, two 133Xe activity concentration reference standards were produced independently by Idaho National Laboratory and Seibersdorf Laboratories and used for the 2014 laboratory inter-comparison exercise. The preparation of a complementary 127Xe activity concentration standard as well as a 127Xe laboratory inter-comparison exercise suggests 127Xe as a suitable isotope for QA/QC of remote IMS noble gas stations.