Geometry factor for in-situ soil contamination density estimation

Abstract

A method is proposed for estimating the density of soil contamination with gamma-emitting radionuclides (Bc·m^-2) in situ (in the field without sampling). The method allows to take into account the peculiarities of the distribution of radionuclides along the soil profile at a given site by the ratio of scattered and non-scattered photon fluxes. The scope of application has been expanded and the uncertainty of the previously developed method used for radiological examination of agricultural lands contaminated with ¹³⁷Cs without sampling has been reduced. The proposed method of remote assessment of the pollution density practically does not introduce an additional error in comparison with the traditional method, which includes soil sampling and subsequent analysis in laboratory conditions. The duration of the spectrum set and its automatic processing at a ¹³⁷Cs contamination density of more than 100 kBq·m^-2 does not exceed 1 min.