Speaker
Description
LABChico will be an underground laboratory in Mineral del Chico, Comarca Minera, Hidalgo UNESCO Global Geopark, in Mexico inside a decommissioned mine with an approximate rock overburden of 100 meters. This laboratory currently under development and with construction planned by the end of 2021, will be primarily focusing on research in low background gamma assay for neutrino and dark matter experiments, detector prototypes, and applications related to environmental radioactivity by measuring the presence of radionuclides in food, soil, and water. The facility will initially host two HPGe detectors for gamma assays and plastic scintillator counters for muon flux measurements used for educational purposes. LABChico is supported by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the government of Hidalgo and the Comarca Minera, Hidalgo UNESCO Global Geopark in Mexico, and the Global Challenges Research Fund in the UK. In this talk, I will present the current status of the facility, measurements of gamma backgrounds at the location of the laboratory, and the results of the gamma and alpha screening program.
