Sorcic, Ashley, authorSudowe, Ralf, advisorBrandl, Alexander, committee memberOmur-Ozbek, Pinar, committee member2019-06-142019-06-142019https://hdl.handle.net/10217/195387Numerous incidents in the past have resulted in the release of radioactive contamination into the environment, some of which require continuous monitoring decades later. Past and potential future incidents encourage governments and regulating agencies to develop procedures and methods to deal with nuclear emergencies, decontamination and decommissioning, and historical preservation in the face of a possibly dangerous environment. One technique which may assist in forensics and clean-up efforts is digital autoradiography. Digital autoradiography is based on the creation of luminescence due to the interaction of ionizing radiation with the storage phosphor. The resulting image can provide information about the amount and spatial distribution of the radioactivity in a sample. While the technique is typically used for the imaging of beta-emitting radionuclides, it can also be used for alpha emitters. Previous work has shown a correlation between the radioactivity of the sample and the intensity of the light emitted by the phosphor. In addition, it was observed that the luminosity varied for different alpha emitting isotopes. The current work extended this research to other alpha emitting isotopes and the effect of the energy of the emitted alpha particle on the response of the phosphor screens. In addition the effect of different types of air filters as source material was investigated, as well as the response of Multi-Sensitive storage phosphor screens compared to SuperResolution screens. The last major variable considered was how wrinkled the filters were; this variable was first considered shortly after the sample preparations were complete.born digitalmasters thesesengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.Text