title: Reference materials produced for a European metrological research project focussing on measurements of NORM.
abstract: Reliable measurement of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials is of significance in order to comply with environmental regulations and for radiological protection purposes. This paper discusses the standardisation of three reference materials, namely sand, tuff and TiO2to serve as quality control materials for traceability, method validation and instrument calibration. The sample preparation, material characterization via γ, α and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and the assignment of values for both the 4n (Thorium) and 4n+2 (Uranium) decay series are described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Acoustics and Ionising Radiation, NPL, Teddington TW11 0LW, UK; Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK. Electronic address: cyrus.larijani@npl.co.uk.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Larijani
authors.affiliation: Department of Acoustics and Ionising Radiation, NPL, Teddington TW11 0LW, UK.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.affiliation: Department of Acoustics and Ionising Radiation, NPL, Teddington TW11 0LW, UK; Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Regan
authors.affiliation: Department of Acoustics and Ionising Radiation, NPL, Teddington TW11 0LW, UK.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Department of Acoustics and Ionising Radiation, NPL, Teddington TW11 0LW, UK.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jerome
authors.affiliation: CIEMAT, Laboratorio de Metrología de Radiaciones Ionizantes, Avda. Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.affiliation: ENEA Istituto Nazionale di Metrologia delle Radiazioni Ionizzanti (INMRI), Centro Ricerche Casaccia, I-00123 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Felice
authors.affiliation: Directorate Nuclear Safety and Security, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Retieseweg 111B-2440 Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lutter
authors.affiliation: BEV Bundesamt für Eich-und Vermes'sungswesen, Arltgasse 35, 1160 Wien, Austria.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maringer
authors.affiliation: CMI Czech Metrology Institute, Inspectorate for Ionizing Radiation, Radiova 1, 102 00 Prague 10, Czechia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazánová
keywords: Environmental radioactivity; Gamma-ray emitting radionuclides; NORM; Reference materials; TENORM