Evaluation of Monte Carlo-based calibrations of HPGe detectors for in situ gamma-ray spectrometry

The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of Monte Carlo-based calibrations for in situ gamma-ray spectrometry. We have performed in situ measurements at five different sites in Sweden using HPGe detectors to determine ground deposition activity levels of ¹³⁷Cs from the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Monte Carlo-calculated efficiency calibration factors were compared with corresponding values calculated using a more traditional semi-empirical method. In addition, results for the activity ground deposition were also compared with activity densities found in soil samples. In order to facilitate meaningful comparisons between the different types of results, the combined standard uncertainty of in situ measurements was assessed for both calibration methods. Good agreement, both between the two calibration methods, and between in situ measurements and soil samples, was found at all five sites. Uncertainties in in situ measurements for the given measurement conditions, about 20 years after the fallout occurred, were found to be in the range 15–20% (with a coverage factor k = 1, i.e. with a confidence interval of about 68%).     

Monte Carlo based calibration of scintillation detectors for laboratory and in situ gamma ray measurements

The calibration of scintillation detectors for gamma radiation in a well characterized setup can be transferred to other geometries using Monte Carlo simulations to account for the differences between the calibration and the other geometry. In this study a calibration facility was used that is constructed from bricks of well-known activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K and of radionuclides from the ²³⁸U- and ²³²Th-series. Transfer of the calibration was attempted to a Marinelli beaker geometry with the detector inside a lead shield and to an in situ application with the detector positioned on a sand bed. In general this resulted in good correspondence (within 5-10%) between the activity concentrations derived using the transferred calibration and activities that were derived by independent measurements. Some discrepancies were identified that were attributed to coincident summing in the natural decay series and interference of radon.     

A Monte Carlo study of radon detection in cylindrical diffusion chambers

The functioning of radon diffusion chambers was studied using the Monte Carlo code RAMMX developed here. The alpha particles from radon are assumed randomly produced in the volume of the cylinder, and those from the progeny are assumed to originate randomly at the cylindrical surface. The energy spectrum, the distribution of incident angles, and the distribution of path lengths of the alpha particles on the detector were obtained. These quantities vary depending on input parameters such as initial alpha particle energy, radius and depth of the diffusion chamber, detector size and atmospheric pressure. The calculated energy spectrum for both ²²²Rn and ²²⁰Rn was compared with experiment, permitting the identification of each peak and its origin, and a better understanding of radon monitoring. Three aspects not considered in previous calculations are progeny alphas coming from surfaces of the monitor, taking into account the atmospheric pressure, and including the isotope ²²⁰Rn.     

Estimation of crop residue in China based on a Monte Carlo analysis

Accurate crop residue resource estimation is important for bioenergy development.This is done by the ratio of residue to grain(R/G),which is usually regarded constant and is widely used for crop residue estimation though uncertainty is inevitable in practice.In this study,a Monte Carlo algorithm was applied to estimate national crop residue by R/G taken from published reports in China.The estimated result was further mapped in pixels by geographic information system.In2009,the amount of crop residue was found to be 802.32 million tons(Mt),with 679.36 and 947.28 Mt as the lower and upper limits for 95%confidence limits.Chinese crop residue was dominated by rice,wheat,and corn,accounting for74.57%(598.29 Mt).From 1949 to 2009,the amount of crop residue increased by four times,accompanied by component change.The spatial distribution of crop residue in China is markedly heterogeneous.Compared to the shortage of crop residue in northwest China,there is an abundant crop residue of about 334 Mt in eastern China,attracting 90%of the country's electricity or heat generation plants.     

A code to simulate nuclear reactor inventories and associated gamma-ray spectra

A computer code has been developed to simulate the gamma-ray spectra that would be measured by airborne gamma spectrometry (AGS) systems from sources containing short-lived fission products. The code uses simple numerical methods to simulate the production and decay of fission products and generates spectra for sodium iodide (NaI) detectors using Monte Carlo codes. A new Monte Carlo code using a virtual array of detectors to reduce simulation times for airborne geometries is described. Spectra generated for a short irradiation and laboratory geometry have been compared with an experimental data set. The agreement is good. Spectra have also been generated for airborne geometries and longer irradiation periods. The application of this code to generate AGS spectra for accident scenarios and their uses in the development and evaluation of spectral analysis methods for such situations are discussed.     

Natural gamma-ray spectra of Terra rossa soil and phosphate ore

Gamma-ray spectra of terra rossa soil and natural-phosphate ore have been measured in order to determine Th, U, K and ¹³⁷Cs contents. It has been found that the phosphate ore contains an order of magnitude lower potassium content than average (n.10^?3g/g), an average content of thorium (n.10^?6g/g), and a two orders of magnitude higher concentration of uranium (n.10^?4g/g) than the averages found in the Earth's crust. Terra rossa contains two to three times higher concentrations of Th and U, average concentrations of K, and up to 0.2 Bq/g of ¹³⁷Cs. Both materials, in our opinion, are suitable for large-sample-calibration purposes and are applicable for radioecological studies of soils.     

In situ gamma-ray spectrometry in forests: determination of kerma rate in air from 137Cs

Continental margins are important areas to be considered when studying the distributions and depositions of pollutants, both conventional and radioactive. Coastal sediments accumulate most of those contaminants which can be introduced following atmospheric and/or fluvial pathways. Moreover, their residence times within the water column are usually shortened due to their affinity to associate with the downward falling particulate matter, more abundant at shallower depths. In this paper the distribution profiles and inventories of plutonium, americium and cesium are detailed, providing useful information about recent sedimentation phenomena such as sediment mixing, slumping processes and bioturbation. Unsupported 210Pb data are used as reliable indicators of enhanced/reduced deposition events. Also, the calculated inventories have enabled the estimation of the radiological contribution of the Spanish Mediterranean margin to the total radioactivity deposited onto the Mediterranean sea floor.     

Treating design uncertainty in the application of Eco-indicator 99 with Monte Carlo simulation and fuzzy intervals

In incremental eco-design improvements, design engineers attempt to modify an existing product via some eco-design measures to reduce the product’s environmental impacts (e.g. reduction of material usage and energy consumption). In this process, several design concepts can be proposed, and concept selection is required to allocate resources sensibly to promising design concepts only. In this context, the research purpose is to estimate the environmental impacts of each concept given the uncertainty of design information. In the proposed methodology, the fuzzy interval arithmetic is used to specify and propagate imprecise design information. Then, the centroid concept is applied to model different views of imprecision (i.e. pessimistic, balanced and optimistic) associated with fuzzy impact assessment. Accordingly, a decision scheme is developed to support concept selection and suggest the potential areas for further eco-design improvements. A coffee maker is used as an example to demonstrate the proposed methodology. Also, the Monte Carlo Simulation is applied for the same example to compare the numerical outcomes by the fuzzy interval approach.     

Parametric uncertainty analysis on hydrodynamic coefficients in groundwater numerical models using Monte Carlo method and RPEM

Groundwater resources are the only source of water in many arid and semi-arid regions. It is important to manage these resources to have a sustainable development. However, there are many factors influencing the accuracy of the results in groundwater modeling. In this research, the uncertainty of two important groundwater model parameters (hydraulic conductivity and specific yield) were considered as the main sources of uncertainty in estimating water level in an unconfined aquifer, in Iran. For this purpose, a simple method called Rosenblueth Point Estimate Method (RPEM) was used to assess groundwater modeling parametric uncertainty, and its performance was compared with Monte Carlo method as a very complicated and time-consuming method. According to calibrated values of hydraulic conductivity and specific yield, several uncertainty intervals were considered to analyze uncertainty. The results showed that the optimum interval for hydraulic conductivity was 40% increase–30% decrease of the calibrated values in both Monte Carlo and RPEM methods. This interval for specific yield was 200% increase–90% decrease of the calibrated values. RPEM showed better performance using the evaluating indices in comparison with Monte Carlo method for both hydraulic conductivity and specific yield with 43% and 17% higher index values, respectively. These results can be used in groundwater management and future prediction of groundwater level.

     

Experimental and Monte Carlo simulation studies of open cylindrical radon monitoring device using CR-39 detector

There are several methods of measuring radon concentrations but nuclear track detector cylindrical dosimeters are widely employed. In this investigation, the consequence of effective volumes of the dosimeters on the registration of alpha tracks in a CR-39 detector was studied. In a series of experiments an optimum radius for a CR-39-based open cylindrical radon dosimeter was found to be about 3 cm. Monte Carlo simulation techniques have been employed to verify the experimental results. In this context, a computer code Monte Carlo simulation dosimetry (MOCSID) was developed. Monte Carlo simulation experiments gave the optimum radius of the dosimeters as 3.0 cm. The experimental results are in good agreement with those obtained by Monte Carlo design calculations. In addition to this, plate-out effects of radon progeny were also studied. It was observed that the contribution of radon progeny (218Po and 214Po) plated-out on the wall of the dosimeters increases with an increase of dosimeter radii and then decrease to 0 at a radius of about 3 cm if a point detector has been installed at the center of the dosimeter base. In the code MOCSID different types of random number generators were employed. The results of this research are very useful for designing an optimum size of radon dosimeters.     

Recent advances in aerial gamma-ray surveying

Aerial gamma-ray surveying uses NaI(Tl) detectors mounted in small aircraft to measure gamma radiation, emitted from the earth's surface. The data are collected as gamma-ray spectra, typically with 1 s counting times, from which are derived K, U and Th concentrations in the ground. Applications of aerial surveying include geological mapping for mineral exploration, soil mapping for agriculture, pollution studies and location of lost sources. Recent advances in applying statistical methods to the spectral data have resulted in large reductions in the noise levels in the surveys. Some of the methods available to do this include noise adjusted singular value decomposition (NASVD) [Proceedings of Exploration 97: Fourth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration (1997) 753] and maximum noise fraction (MNF) and enhanced MNF (eMNF) [Explor. Geophys. 31 (2000) 73]. These methods, in general, apply normalization for variance to the spectra, use a principal component method to obtain the "significant" components of the data and reconstruct cleaned spectra, which are then processed in a standard manner to get radionuclide concentrations. However, they differ in the detail of the application and thus give slightly different results. In this paper, the application of noise reduction methods to various synthetic surveys is used to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the methods. In tests where there are high correlations between U and Th, the eMNF method performs best although the results are improved by prior clustering of the data by the Th/U ratio. If the data show no correlations, then the effectiveness of all the noise removal methods is reduced. If a data set is small (<1500 spectra), then MNF appears to be the better method. Consideration of the various tests suggests an optimum process whereby spectra are sorted into groups by the Th/U ratio of areas identified in a standard processing and then cleaned by eMNF or MNF, depending on the number of spectra in each group.     

Imprecision of dose predictions for radionuclides released to the environment: An application of a Monte Carlo simulation technique

An evaluation of the imprecision in dose predictions has been performed using current dose assessment models and present knowledge of the variability or uncertainty in model parameter values. The propagation of parameter uncertainties is demonstrated using a Monte Carlo technique for elemental ¹³¹I transported via the pasture-cow-milk-child pathway. The results indicate that when site-specific information is not available the imprecision inherent in the predictions for this pathway is potentially large. Generally, the 99th percentile in thyroid dose for children was predicted to be approximately an order of magnitude greater than the median value. The potential consequences of the imprecision in dose for radiation protection purposes are discussed.     

Assessment of natural and anthropogenic radioactivity levels in rocks and soils in the environs of Swieradow Zdroj in Sudetes, Poland, by in situ gamma-ray spectrometry

The natural radioactivity of 40K, 208Ti, 212Pb, 214Pb, 228Ac, and the fallout of 137Cs in typical rocks and soils of Swieradów Zdrój area (Sudetes Mountains, Poland) were measured in situ using a portable gamma-ray spectrometry workstation. The measurement points were chosen for different regional lithology: within hornfelses of the Szklarska Poreba schist-belt, quartz rocks, gneisses of the Swieradów Zdrój unit, leucogranites, leptinites, mica schists of the Stara Kamienica belt, and finally the zones of the southern and northern contacts of the Stara Kamienica schist-belt with leucogranites and gneisses of the Lesna unit, respectively. 40K activity varied in the range from about 320 Bq kg(-1) (quartz) to 1200 Bq kg(-1) (gneisses). The activity concentrations associated with 228Ac (232Th series) varied in the range from 25 Bq kg(-1) (quartz) to 62 Bq kg(-1) (leucogranites), whereas activity concentration of 226Ra varied in the range from about 31 Bq kg(-1) (hornfelses) to 122 Bq kg(-1) (leucogranites). Relatively low deposits of 137Cs were noted in the investigated area, where the activity concentrations ranged from 4001 (hornfelses) Bq m(-2) to less than 154 Bq m(-2) (leucogranites).     

An airborne gamma-ray spectrometry survey of nuclear sites in Belgium

As part of a wider study to define the existing background levels in Belgium an airborne gamma-ray survey was conducted in two areas associated with nuclear sites. In the Mol area, the survey zone included areas surrounding the SCK-CEN nuclear research centre, and its associated neighbourhood which includes radioactive waste stores, fuel manufacture and fabrication facilities and an international accelerator laboratory. In the vicinity of Fleurus, the survey included the IRE complex with radiochemical laboratories, irradiation facilities and stores, and isotope production accelerators. The survey was conducted using a twin engined helicopter equipped with a combined scintillation and semiconductor spectrometer. The system was installed and tested in the UK, and then transferred to Belgium for operations. The complete survey was conducted successfully within 1 week. The results provide a comprehensive record of the radiation environment of the nuclear sites at time of survey, and show a range of signals associated with the types of activity present in each area. They confirm that radiation fields are largely confined to the operational sites, and provide a traceable record against which future changes could be assessed. The demonstration of efficient deployment between two European countries, coupled with rapid mapping of many different radiometric signals around these sites confirms the utility of the airborne gamma spectrometry approach for accurate definition of enhanced radiation fields. This has important implications for emergency response.     

Experimental investigation of gamma-ray attenuation in Jordanian building materials using HPGe-spectrometer

The capabilities of some building materials used in Jordan to attenuate gamma radiation were tested. Measurements of the attenuation coefficients of limestone, bricks and concrete have been carried out using a HPGe-spectrometer. Narrow beam technique was used, with a multiple gamma radiation source of different energy lines. Results indicate that variations in the attenuation coefficient for all limestone samples, at the same energy line, are within the experimental uncertainties. On the basis of the results achieved, an empirical formula mu(m)=AE(-0.44) was proposed to calculate attenuation at various incident energies. Limestone of average thickness 7cm was found to stop 75% of a gamma beam of energy 662keV. Meanwhile a brick of effective thickness 7cm was found to stop 60% of the same beam. The total attenuation coefficient of concrete calculated at 1333keV was 11.2m(-1), which is less than that of limestone and bricks.     

Development and application of marine gamma-ray measurements: a review

The development of instruments to measure gamma radiation in the marine environment, particularly on the sea floor, and the range of uses to which they have been put is reviewed. Since the first steps in the late 1950s, systems have been developed in at least 10 countries with the main thrust occurring in the 1970s. Development has continued up to the present, primarily in Europe and the USA. Marine gamma-ray spectrometers have been used for a range of applications including the mapping of rocks and unconsolidated sediments, mineral exploration (mainly for heavy minerals and phosphorites), sediment transport studies and investigations in relation to discharged and dumped nuclear wastes and at nuclear weapon test sites.     

Use of HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry to assess the isotopic compositiion of uranium in soils

Gamma-ray spectrometry was used to determine uranium activity and investigate the presence of depleted uranium in soil samples collected from camping sites of the Greek expeditionary force in Kosovo. Assessment of 238U concentrations was based on measurements of the 63.3 keV and 92.38 keV emissions of its first daughter nuclide, 234Th. To determine the isotopic ratio of 238U/235U, secular equilibrium along the two radioactive series was first ensured and thereby the contribution of 235U under the 186 keV peak was deduced. The uranium activity in the samples varied from 48 to 112 Bq kg(-1), whereas the activity ratio of 238U/235U averaged 23.1+/-4.3.     

High accuracy in situ radiometric mapping

In situ and airborne gamma ray spectrometry have been shown to provide rapid and spatially representative estimates of environmental radioactivity across a range of landscapes. However, one of the principal limitations of this technique has been the influence of changes in the vertical distribution of the source (e.g. 137Cs) on the observed photon fluence resulting in a significant reduction in the accuracy of the in situ activity measurement. A flexible approach for single gamma photon emitting radionuclides is presented, which relies on the quantification of forward scattering (or valley region between the full energy peak and Compton edge) within the gamma ray spectrum to compensate for changes in the 137Cs vertical activity distribution. This novel in situ method lends itself to the mapping of activity concentrations in environments that exhibit systematic changes in the vertical activity distribution. The robustness of this approach has been demonstrated in a salt marsh environment on the Solway coast, SW Scotland, with both a 7.6 cm x 7.6 cm NaI(Tl) detector and a 35% n-type HPGe detector. Application to ploughed field environments has also been demonstrated using HPGe detector, including its application to the estimation of field moist bulk density and soil erosion measurement. Ongoing research work is also outlined.     

External gamma-ray dose rate and radon concentration in indoor environments covered with Brazilian granites

Health hazard from natural radioactivity in Brazilian granites, covering the walls and floor in a typical dwelling room, was assessed by indirect methods to predict external gamma-ray dose rates and radon concentrations. The gamma-ray dose rate was estimated by a Monte Carlo simulation method and validated by in-situ measurements with a NaI spectrometer. Activity concentrations of ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰K in an extensive selection of Brazilian commercial granite samples measured by using gamma-ray spectrometry were found to be 4.5-450 Bq kg⁻¹, 4.9-160 Bq kg⁻¹ and 190-2029 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. The maximum external gamma-ray dose rate from floor and walls covered with the Brazilian granites in the typical dwelling room (5.0 m × 4.0 m area, 2.8 m height) was found to be 120 nGy h⁻¹, which is comparable with the average worldwide exposure to external terrestrial radiation of 80 nGy h⁻¹ due to natural sources, proposed by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Radon concentrations in the room were also estimated by a simple mass balance equation and exhalation rates calculated from the measured values of ²²⁶Ra concentrations and the material properties. The results showed that the radon concentration in the room ventilated adequately (0.5 h⁻¹) will be lower than 100 Bq m⁻³, value recommended as a reference level by the World Health Organization.     

Optimisation of systems to locate discrete gamma-ray sources within a large search area

Most systems used to locate discrete gamma-ray sources involve systematically passing a detector over the search area while seeking a significant increase in the observed count-rate. This paper discusses the ways in which such systems may be designed to maximise the probability of locating a source. It is shown that optimised systems use a collimated, energy-discriminating detector and overlapping counting intervals determined by the scanning geometry and speed.