Efficient in situ method to determine radionuclide concentration in soil

Kastlander, Johan; Bargholtz, Christoph

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2005.03.143

Cited by 25 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The issue of depth distributions of gamma emitting radionuclides has been the subject of several studies in the field of in-situ gamma spectrometry. Mainly three approaches have been proposed: a) the differential attenuation of gamma emission lines as a function of energy, sometimes referred to as the two lines method (Miller et Thummerer and Jacob, 1998); b) the forward scattering or photopeak to valley method, based on the ratio of count-rates in the full energy peak of a specific emission line and the count-rate in the valley between the corresponding Compton edge and the photopeak (Zombori et al, 1992;Tyler et al, 1996;Tyler, 1999Tyler, , 2004Kastlander and Bargholtz, 2005;Tyler and Copplestone, 2007); c) the use of lead plates and/or collimators (Korun et al, 1994;Benke and Kearfott, 2001). While the application of the two first approaches is limited to simple depth distributions of radioelements -e. g. exponential decrease for 137 Cs -the third suffers from the need for repeated measurements and long counting times.…”

Section: Gamma Dose Rate Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field gamma spectrometry, Monte Carlo simulations and potential of non-invasive measurements

Guérin

Mercier

2011

Geochronometria

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Abstract:The determination of gamma dose rates is of prior importance in the field of luminescence dating methods. In situ measurements are usually performed by the insertion of dosimeters or a portable gamma spectrometer cell in sediments. In this paper, Monte-Carlo simulations using the GEANT4 toolkit allow the development of a new technique of in-situ gamma dose rate evaluations: a spectrometer cell is placed on the surface of sediments under excavation to acquire successive spectra as sediments are removed by excavations. The principle of this non-invasive technique is outlined and its potential is discussed, especially in the case of environments in which radioelements are heterogeneously distributed. For such cases, a simple method to reconstruct gamma dose rate values with surface measurements using an attenuator is discussed, and an estimation of errors is given for two simple cases. This technique appears to be applicable, but still needs experimental validation.

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Section: Gamma Dose Rate Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field gamma spectrometry, Monte Carlo simulations and potential of non-invasive measurements

Guérin

Mercier

2011

Geochronometria

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“…The benefit of utilising the PVR to account for burial depth was first realised by Zombori et al (1992) and has since been used widely to estimate the burial depth of 137 Cs (Feng et al, 2012;Gering et al, 2002Gering et al, , 1998Kastlander and Bargholtz, 2005;Tyler, 2004). In essence, the PVR is the ratio of the full energy photopeak and the forward scattered photons ( Figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the deposition environment and long-term fate of Chernobyl 137Cs at the floodplain scale through mobile gamma spectrometry

Varley

Tyler

Bondar

et al. 2018

Environmental Pollution

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Cs-137 is considered to be the most significant anthropogenic contributor to human dose and presents a particularly difficult remediation challenge after a dispersal following nuclear incident. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant meltdown in April 1986 represents the largest nuclear accident in history and released over 80 PBq of Cs into the environment. As a result, much of the land in close proximity to Chernobyl, which includes the Polessie State Radioecology Reserve in Belarus, remains highly contaminated with Cs to such an extent they remain uninhabitable. Whilst there is a broad scale understanding of the depositional patterns within and beyond the exclusion zone, detailed mapping of the distribution is often limited. New developments in mobile gamma spectrometry provide the opportunity to map the fallout ofCs and begin to reconstruct the depositional environment and the long-term behaviour of Cs in the environment. Here, full gamma spectrum analysis using algorithms based on the peak-valley ratio derived from Monte Carlo simulations are used to estimate the totalCs deposition and its depth distribution in the soil. The results revealed a pattern of Cs distribution consistent with the deposition occurring at a time of flooding, which is validated by review of satellite imagery acquired at similar times of the year. The results were also consistent with systematic burial of the falloutCs by annual flooding events. These results were validated by sediment cores collected along a transect across the flood plain. The true merit of the approach was confirmed by exposing new insights into the spatial distribution and long term fate of Cs across the floodplain. Such systematic patterns of behaviour are likely to be fundamental to the understanding of the radioecological behaviour ofCs whilst also providing a tracer for quantifying the ecological controls on sediment movement and deposition at a landscape scale.

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“…Zombori et al (1992) calculated the ratio between the net peak area and these valley counts as a way of estimating the penetration depth of the 137 Cs in radioactive fallout (Zombori, 2012(Zombori, , 2013. Several others have used this method and evaluated the feasibility in different situations (Feng et al, 2009;Gering et al, 1998;Hjerpe and Samuelsson, 2002;Kastlander and Bargholtz, 2005;Panza, 2012;Lemercier, 2007;Tyler, 2004). The contribution in the valley ROI is dependent of detector characteristics, and to further develop the PTV method, a better understanding of contributing factors is necessary.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimentally determined vs. Monte Carlo simulated peak-to-valley ratios for a well-characterised n-type HPGe detector

Östlund¹,

Samuelsson²,

Rääf³

2015

Applied Radiation and Isotopes

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Efficient in situ method to determine radionuclide concentration in soil

Cited by 25 publications

References 8 publications

Field gamma spectrometry, Monte Carlo simulations and potential of non-invasive measurements

Field gamma spectrometry, Monte Carlo simulations and potential of non-invasive measurements

Reconstructing the deposition environment and long-term fate of Chernobyl 137Cs at the floodplain scale through mobile gamma spectrometry

Experimentally determined vs. Monte Carlo simulated peak-to-valley ratios for a well-characterised n-type HPGe detector

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