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Nuclear chemistry and physics laboratories

Nuclear chemistry and physics laboratories

Our laboratories of type B according to the meaning of the federal ordinance on radiological protection (ORaP) are the only two of their category in the whole of the Swiss HES. They are equipped and approved for performing work requiring the use of radioactive sources. Consequently, the personnel and students are classified as «persons professionally exposed to radiation» and, as such, are subject to statutory medical and dosimetric checks.

These laboratories are used for the bachelor’s degree training of engineers and technicians in medical radiology and for applied research, as well as for the provision of services.

Équipement(s): 

The nuclear chemistry laboratory is equipped with installations, devices and various equipment for the processing, preparation and analysis of radioactive chemical products, such as:

  • absolute filter chambers, lab benches with plastic coating;
  • glove boxes for physics and chemistry handling;
  • a solid-liquid extractor;
  • an array of mixers-decanters;
  • equipment for manufacturing cemented samples;
  • a laboratory crusher and a cryo-crusher;
  • a pyrolizer;
  • a wet digestion device (acid channel) under focused microwaves;
  • a gas-chromatograph;
  • an ionic chromatograph;
  • a ICP-MS;
  • Hamilton dilutor.

The nuclear physics laboratory is well equipped with various measuring systems for measuring activity, such as:

  • software for modelling/simulation of radiation (RayXpert, Fluka, GESPCOR, etc.);    
  • scintillation or semi-conductor detectors (Ge and Ge-Li) associated with multi-channel analysers;
  • a portable NaI scintillation detector associated with a multi-channel analyser for measurements on the ground;
  • calibrated and characterised gamma spectrometers;
  • liquid scintillation spectrometer;
  • alpha spectrometers;
  • an ionisation chamber;
  • a portable system for measuring the concentration of Rn-222 in air;
  • devices for measuring surface contamination;
  • portable and personal radiation meters;
  • reference sources;
  • a source of Ra-Be neutrons.

Gamma spectrometry inter-comparisons

Contact

Head of laboratory

HEPIA
Rue de la Prairie 4
Genève 1202
Switzerland