Monte Carlo techniques for in-situ specific activity estimation of radionuclides with a portable coaxial HPGe: preliminary results

Enrico Tarabini; Oliviero Cremonesi; Elena Di Stefano; Daniele Pedrini; Massimiliano Clemenza

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110768

Monte Carlo techniques for in-situ specific activity estimation of radionuclides with a portable coaxial HPGe: preliminary results

Appl Radiat Isot. 2023 Jun:196:110768. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110768. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Authors

Enrico Tarabini¹, Oliviero Cremonesi², Elena Di Stefano², Daniele Pedrini², Massimiliano Clemenza²

Affiliations

¹ INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, Milano, I-20126, Italy. Electronic address: e.tarabini96@gmail.com.
² INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, Milano, I-20126, Italy.

PMID: 36996535
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110768

Abstract

In this work, gamma-ray spectrometry with HPGe detectors is used to measure radionuclides' specific activity (A_sp) in soils. The main purpose of the paper is to present a general procedure to assess A_sp in soils from in-situ acquisitions. The soil from two experimental sites was analyzed both in the field, with a portable HPGe detector, and in the laboratory, with a BEGe detector. Sample analysis in the laboratory provided a benchmark for the values of soil's A_sp since it is easier to measure. Monte Carlo simulations were employed to obtain detectors' efficiency at different gamma-ray energies and allowed to assess radionuclides' A_sp from in-situ acquisitions. Finally, the applicability and limitations of this procedure are discussed.

Keywords: Gamma-ray spectrometry; Monte Carlo simulations.