Progress in the design of a radiation-hard plastic scintillator

Plastic scintillators form a common component of modern particle physics detectors. With the planned construction of a new generation of high luminosity hadron colliders (SSC and LHC), it is expected that unprecedented high levels of radiation will be present in the experimental halls. Some components of the detector (specifically those utilizing scintillator) will have to endure annual doses of 104 to 105 Gy or more. Standard scintillators will not survive such conditions. This paper is an update on research started three years ago with the goal of developing plastic scintillators appropriate to such an environment