Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a unique fieldable 37Ar measurement system designed to measure 37Ar activity concentrations from soil gas samples to detect above ground and underground nuclear explosions. The Argon-37 Field System is modular in design to accommodate both chemical processing and nuclear detection. The system can be packed into shipping crates and shipped to a location near where the sampling is taking place. The system can process six 2-m3 whole-air samples in 24 h and can measure the 37Ar activity in each of the samples using six proportional counters. The proportional counters, designed and built at PNNL, are surrounded with both active and passive shielding to reduce background and can achieve a minimum detection concentration of 10 mBq/m3 of 37Ar in whole-air equivalent. The Argon-37 Field System has undergone extensive testing against rigorous requirements to assure the system meets the needs of the noble gas nuclear explosion monitoring community.

中文翻译：

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高通量 Argon-37 现场系统

太平洋西北国家实验室 (PNNL) 开发了一种独特的可现场使用的 37Ar 测量系统，旨在测量土壤气体样本中的 37Ar 活度浓度，以检测地上和地下核爆炸。Argon-37 现场系统采用模块化设计，以适应化学处理和核探测。该系统可以装在运输板条箱中，然后运送到取样地点附近。该系统可以在 24 小时内处理六个 2 立方米的全空气样品，并且可以使用六个正比计数器测量每个样品中的 37Ar 活度。在 PNNL 设计和建造的正比计数器被主动和被动屏蔽包围以减少背景，并且可以在全空气当量中实现 37Ar 的最低检测浓度为 10 mBq/m3。