Target handling at high-intensity RNB facilities Original Research Article

The increasing scientific demand for new isotopes farther from stability has created a need for dealing with targets and ion sources capable of handling higher primary-beam powers. The induced residual radiation makes hands-on maintenance not possible. However, remote handling of complex systems is difficult and costly. The engineering challenges are to achieve long-term target availability while minimizing radiation exposure to workers and to the environment. In order to realize these goals, it is essential to develop an overall strategy to deal with the prompt radiation, the activated components, the volatile contamination and the loose contamination.