• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.190-194
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• 2009

Gamma spectral results for macroalgae samples taken from the environment of Ulchin nuclear power plants in Korea (east coast), showed 766 keV peaks, which were identified as $^{95}Nb$ by several research institutes. After the enhancement of liquid radioactive waste disposal facility at Ulchin NPP site, the $^{95}Nb$ amount in the liquid radioactive waste outflow has drastically reduced, but the expected reduction in $^{95}Nb$ specific activity from environmental samples did not actually show up on gamma spectroscopy. Detailed re-investigation revealed that along with 766 keV peak, other peaks (63, 92 and 1001 keV) from $^{234}Th-^{234}mPa$ decay series were also detected on spectroscopy, and that the measured half lives of the four peaks were very close to known half life of $^{234}Th-^{234}mPa$ decay series, which is 24.1 day. The measured gamma yield ratios of 766 keV peak to 1001 peak were very close to known ratio 0.35 for $^{234}mPa$. It is concluded that 766 keV peaks on gamma spectroscopy of Ulchin NPP environmental samples were mainly from $^{234}mPa$, which is one of naturally occurring radionuclides.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.127-133
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• 2021

Background: Phosphogypsum is material produced as a byproduct in fertilizer industry and is generally used for building materials. This material may contain enhanced radium-226 (²²⁶Ra) activity concentration compared to its natural concentration that may lead to indoor radon accumulation. Therefore, an accurate measurement method is proposed in this study to determine ²²⁶Ra activity concentration in phosphogypsum sample, considering the potential radon leakage from the sample container. Materials and Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) phosphogypsum reference material was used as a sample in this study. High-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometry was used to measure the activity concentration of the ²²⁶Ra decay products, i.e., ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Pb. Marinelli beakers sealed with three different sealing methods were used as sample containers. Due to the potential leakage of radon from the Marinelli beaker (MB), correction to the activity concentration resulted in gamma spectrometry is needed. Therefore, the leaked fraction of radon escaped from the sample container was calculated and added to the gamma spectrometry measured values. Results and Discussion: Total activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra was determined by summing up the activity concentration from gamma spectrometry measurement and calculated concentration from radon leakage correction method. The results obtained from ²¹⁴Bi peak were 723.4 ± 4.0 Bq·kg^-1 in MB1 and 719.2 ± 3.5 Bq·kg^-1 in MB2 that showed about 5% discrepancy compared to the certified activity. Besides, results obtained from ²¹⁴Pb peak were 741.9 ± 3.6 Bq·kg^-1 in MB1 and 740.1 ± 3.4 Bq·kg^-1 in MB2 that showed about 2% difference compared to the certified activity measurement of ²²⁶Ra concentration activity. Conclusion: The results show that radon leakage correction was calculated with insignificant discrepancy to the certified values and provided improvement to the gamma spectrometry. Therefore, measuring ²²⁶Ra activity concentration in TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material) sample using radon leakage correction can be concluded as a convenient and accurate method that can be easily conducted with simple calculation.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.523-529
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• 2022

Gamma spectroscopy analysis is widely used for radioactivity analysis, and various factors are required for radioactivity calculations. Among the factors, K3 for each sample significantly influences the results. The previous methods of correcting the self-absorption effect include a computational simulation method and a method that requires making a CRM(certified reference material) identical to the sample medium. However, the above methods have limitations when used in small institutions because they require specialized program utilization skills or high manufacturing costs and large facilities. The aim of this study is to develop a method that can be easily and rapidly applied to radioactivity analysis. After filling the beaker with water, we placed the radiation source in a uniform position and used the measured value as the benchmark. Next, a correction factor was derived based on the difference in the radiation source count of the benchmark and the identically measured sample. For the radiation source, Eu-152, which emits a broad range of energy within the measurement range of gamma rays, and Cs-134 and Cs-137, which are indicator nuclides in environmental radiation analysis, were used. The sample was selected within the density range of 0.26-2.11 g/cm³, and the correction factor was derived by calculating the count difference of each sample compared to the reference value of water. This study presents a faster and more convenient method than the existing research methods for determining the self-absorption effect correction, which has become increasingly necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1197-1205
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• 2023

In this study, the spectrum due to radioactivity contained sand samples from famous beaches in the Yeongnam region was measured. The sand samples were from eight famous beaches in Yeongnam region and were placed into a high-purity germanium detector (HPGe) using with an electric field, which is a semiconductor detector and subjected to a precision analysis of the gamma-rays emitted from the radionuclides in the sand by using a multichannel analyzer (MCA). To measure the concentration of the radionuclides, we obtained a spectrum by analyzing the gamma-rays emitted from the radionuclides for a measurement time of 8,000 seconds. As a result of analyzing the spectrum table, Tl-208 had the highest radioactivity at all eight beaches: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. In conclusion, radionuclides detected in sand samples from beaches in the Yeongnam region are natural radionuclides, but they can affect the inside of the human body. Therefore, there is a need for continuous investigation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1781-1795
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• 2024

This study investigated the levels of radioactivity in soil surrounding a phosphate fertilizer factory in Egypt, aiming to assess potential risks to the population exposed to radiation. Concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were measured in soil samples collected from two subsites: one near the factory (subsite 1) and another further away (subsite 2). Two different systems were used for measuring radioactivity, a high-purity gamma ray spectroscopy system with an HPGe detector for gamma-emitting isotopes and a CR-39 solid nuclear track detector for alpha-emitting radon gas. Subsite 1, located close to the factory, displayed significantly elevated levels of ²²⁶Ra compared to global background levels (514 and 456 Bq/kg vs. 35 Bq/kg). Additionally, the concentrations of ²³⁸U (241.06 Bq/kg vs. global average 35 Bq/kg), ²³²Th (16.15 Bq/kg vs. global average 30 Bq/kg), and ⁴⁰K (146.36 Bq/kg vs. global average 400 Bq/kg) were all above global averages. Furthermore, a high concentration of radon gas (337.06 μSv/y) was measured at subsite 1. The strong positive correlation observed between ²²⁶Ra and ²³⁸U (0.96256) provides further evidence of potentially elevated radioactivity levels near the factory. In contrast, subsite 2, situated farther from the factory, exhibited natural radioactive background levels within international limits. Quantitative analysis revealed that gamma ray absorbed doses for ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th exceeded global averages in some samples. Specifically, ²²⁶Ra doses ranged from 7.8 to 46.26 ppm (exceeding the 20 ppm global average in some cases), and ²³²Th doses ranged from 1.98 to 9.14 ppm (exceeding the 10 ppm global average in some cases). The concentration of ⁴⁰K, however, remained within the global range (0.07%-0.69 %). The observed imbalances in the ratios of Th/U (0.17-0.24 Bq/kg and 0.73-0.24 ppm) and U/Ra (0.81-0.73 Bq/kg and 0.73-0.17 ppm), both of which are significantly lower than their respective global averages of 4 and 2.4, point towards the presence of fertilizer-derived contamination. This conclusion is further supported by the high phosphate concentrations detected in the samples. Overall, this study suggests that radioactive contamination near the phosphate fertilizer factory significantly exceeds global background levels and international limits in some cases. This raises concerns about potential risks posed to surrounding agricultural land and crops.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.69-78
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• 1988

The study was designed to establish a more nearly quantitative method for assessing the marginal leakage of dental restorations. 27 Class V cavities with $45^{\circ}$ bevel joint were prepared and classified into 2 groups. One group was filled with Scotchbond and silux. The other group was filled with glass ionomer cement, Scotchbond and silux. After finishing, all specimens were subjected manually to 100 thermal cycles at $0^{\circ}C$ and $100^{\circ}C$ water-bath. They were soaked in a samarium nitrate solution for 3 hours, irradiated with flux of $6{\times}10^{12}$ neutrons/$cm^2$/sec for 11 hours, cooled for 200 hours, counted with the HPGE detector and the tracer uptake was determined by comparison with a standard of samarium (10 ${\mu}g$). The following results were obtained. 1. Both of the two groups showed a considerable amounts of marginal leakage. 2. The group filled without glass ionomer cement base showed more marginal leakage than the group filled with glass ionomer cement base. 3. Neutron Activation Analysis produced a good quantitative method to measure the marginal leakage and samarium was appropriate to measure the marginal leakage of resin restorations using neutron activation analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1271-1276
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• 2020

The geometrical efficiency of a source-to-detector configuration is considered to be necessary in the calculation of the full energy peak efficiency, especially for NaI(Tl) and HPGe gamma-ray spectroscopy detectors. The geometrical efficiency depends on the solid angle subtended by the radioactive sources and the detector surfaces. The present work is basically concerned to establish a new mathematical approach for calculating the solid angle and geometrical efficiency, based on conversion of the geometrical solid angle of a non-axial radioactive point source with respect to a circular surface of the detector to a new equivalent geometry. The equivalent geometry consists of an axial radioactive point source with respect to an arbitrary elliptical surface that lies between the radioactive point source and the circular surface of the detector. This expression was extended to include coaxial radioactive circular disk source. The results were compared with a number of published data to explain how significant this work is in the efficiency calibration procedure for the γ-ray detection systems, especially in case of using isotropic radiating γ-ray sources in the form of point and disk shapes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1282-1288
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• 2020

In the first study, the Radon emanation and radiological hazards associated with radionuclides in soil samples, collected from 9 various date palm farms located in 3 different districts in Saudi Arabia were determined through a high purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometer. The estimated average values of Radon emanation coefficient and Radon mass exhalation rate for soil samples were 0.535 ± 0.016 and 50.063 ± 7.901 mBqkg^-1h^-1, respectively. The annual effective dose of radionuclides in all sampling locations was found to be lower than UNSCEAR's recommended level of 0.07 mSvy^-1 for soil in an outdoor environment. In the secondary study, gross α and gross β activities in soil and date palm pits samples were measured by a low background α/β counting system. Average values of gross α and gross β activities in soil and date palm pits samples were 5.761 ± 0.360 Bqkg^-1, 38.219 ± 8.619 Bqkg^-1 and 0.556 ± 0.142 Bqkg^-1, 24.266 ± 1.711 Bqkg^-1, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.73-77
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• 2015

In order to observe the detailed structure of the detector, it was CT scanned to reproduce the detailed structure of the crystal shapes and traverse layer using the Monte Carlo calculation applying the detector model. The uncertainty of measurement was lowered by adjusting the detector core by the edge effect at a higher energy (400 keV or higher) through the offset of peak efficiency of the gamma ray at low energy. It was confirmed that there was the appropriate matching with spatial dependency using the PENELOPE calculation. That was achieved by adjusting the parameters describing the crystal core and rounding of edge and crystal core.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.195-204
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• 2000

order to investigate physical characteristics and element concentrations of sediments, coastal bottom sediments were collected at 20 stations in the vicinity of Youngkwang Nuclear Power Plant. After air drying of samples in the laboratory. article size distribution was examined by Master sizer (X-350F), radio-activity by HPGe ${\gamma}$-spectrphotometer, and element concentrations by ICP-AES and AAS. According to particle size analysis , sediments are mainly composed of silt fraction weith 23% of sand, 65% of silt and 12% of clay on average. Most sediments are derived from muddy environment that silt dominates with the characteristics of 5.3${\varsigma}$ mean particle size, poorly sorted, very fine skewed and lepto-kurtic. Only two sediments are well sorted with sandy silt owing to wind, winnowing action, tide and current andits complex reactions. Element concentrations in the coastal bottom sediments are relatively high at finer sediment and show significant relationship with grain size. Index of geoaccumulation by heavy metals at every sampling station is classified as practically unpolluted. The radioactivities of the sediments were measured for 15 isotope elements, and 2 elements of K-40 and Cs-137 were detected in most sediments. The K-40 is the natural nuclide and the artificial nuclide of Cs-137 was thought to be derived from the fallout of past nuclear weapon test. The results of correlation coefficient between grain size and radioactivity shows that the activity of Cs-137 significantly increases in finer grain.