title: Comparison of in situ and laboratory gamma spectroscopy of natural radionuclides in desert soil.
abstract: In situ and laboratory gamma spectroscopy were used to characterize natural background levels of radiation in the soil at eight sites around the Yucca Mountain Range. The purpose of this practical field analysis was to determine if published empirical in situ calibration factors would yield accurate quantitative specific activities (Bq kg(-1)) in a desert environment. Corrections were made to the in situ calibration factors to account for the on-axis response of a detector with a thin beryllium end window. The in situ gamma spectroscopy results were compared to laboratory gamma spectroscopy of soil samples gathered from each site. Five natural radionuclides were considered: 40K, 214Pb, 214Bi, 208Tl, and 228Ac. The in situ determined specific activities were consistently within +/-15% of the laboratory soil sample results. A quantitative discussion of the factors contributing to the uncertainty in the in situ and laboratory results is included. Analysis on the specific activity data using statistical hypothesis tests determined that three nuclides, 214Pb, 214Bi, and 228Ac showed a weak site dependence while the other two nuclides, 40K and 208Tl, did not exhibit a site dependence. Differing radiation background levels from site to site along with in situ and laboratory uncertainties in excess of 10% are two factors that account for the weak site dependence. Despite the good correlation between data, it was recommended that the in situ detector be calibrated by a detector-specific Monte Carlo code which would accurately model more complex geometries and source distributions.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, Ann Arbor 48109-2104, USA.
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Benke
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Kearfott
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma
chemical_list: D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive