"K-Radiation Standards" Exported to Thailand... Expanding Asia's Safety Benchmarks

KRISS Exports Primary Standard Instrument for Radiation Measurement
Strengthening Technological Leadership in the Asia-Pacific Region

Korea's standard technology for radiation measurement is expanding into the Asia-Pacific region. The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) announced on January 16 that it has exported its self-developed radiation measurement standard instrument to the Thailand Atomic Energy Agency and completed local equipment installation and technology transfer.

The exported equipment is a "primary standard for measuring the surface emission rate of planar sources," with a contract value of 270,000 US dollars. This device serves as the highest-level reference infrastructure for ensuring the accuracy of "surface contamination monitors" used in medical, research, and industrial settings. It is a core component of the national radiation safety system, calibrating and verifying reference materials (planar sources) with precisely defined radiation emission rates.

Primary standard for measuring surface emission rate of planar sources exported by KRISS to the Thailand Atomic Energy Agency. Provided by KRISS

The primary standard instrument developed by the KRISS Radiation Measurement Group achieves a measurement uncertainty of less than 1%, representing world-class precision. To fundamentally prevent the loss of radiation particles at the detector cover, KRISS adopted a windowless-type multi-wire proportional counter and combined it with low-noise signal processing technology, achieving both miniaturization and high precision. The multi-wire proportional counter is a highly sensitive device that amplifies and detects electrical signals generated as radiation passes through, using multiple fine wires arranged inside a gas-filled chamber.

After exporting this equipment to the National Metrology Institute of South Africa in 2016, KRISS has now expanded its achievements to the Asian region through this export to Thailand. This is seen as laying the foundation for Korea's radiation measurement technology to be adopted as a standard in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kim Byungchul, Head of the KRISS Radiation Measurement Group, stated, "If Thailand participates in the international comparison (KC) with the newly established equipment and gains recognition for the reliability of its national measurement standards, the status of Korean technology will be further enhanced. We will continue to expand export routes for radiation measurement standard instruments, focusing on ASEAN countries."