NEW ANALYTICAL CAPABILITY MAY PROVIDE SOLUTION TO THE NEUTRON DOSIMETRY PROBLEM IN HIROSHIMA

The large neutron discrepancy in the DS86 dosimetry system for Hiroshi ma survivors may now be resolvable. This possibility is the result of a recent breakthrough in the ultra-separation of nickel from copper an d the measurement of Ni-63 using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The reaction, Cu-63(n,p)Ni-63, results in the production of Ni-63 (hal f life, 100 y) by neutrons above similar to 1 MeV. A laboratory test e xperiment demonstrates that this reaction can now be used to reconstru ct the high energy neutron fluence in Hiroshima, which would eliminate the most serious obstacle that has prevented a credible solution to t he DS86 neutron dosimetry problem.