Fail-safe ion chamber errant beam detector tailored for personnel protection

A description is given of a fail-safe ion chamber system designed to be part of the personnel safety system (PSS) for the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center (LANSCE) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. It protects the occupants of experiment areas from large radiation doses caused by errant beam conditions during beam transport from the proton storage ring to the LANSCE neutron spallation target. The layered system consists of three types of highly reliable detector systems: a current limiter system located in the beam line, a neutron detector system located in experimental areas, and an ion chamber system located on the walls of the beam line tunnels. The ion chamber system is capable of shutting off the beam in less that 0.5 s, resulting in a worst-case personnel exposure of 0.005 Gys (0.5 rd).<
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