S400 Used To Measure Radiation Background Inside Body Counters

Radiation background determines the sensitivity of whole-body counters used to measure the activity of radionuclides, like I-131 in the thyroid and Am-241 in the lungs. Wang et al. used the H3D S400 to measure gamma-ray activity inside a variety of radiation body counters [1]. A comparison between gamma-ray spectra collected from inside and outside a whole-body counter is shown in the figure below. Clear differences in the spectra were observed, like the greatly reduced K-40 inside the body counter. These S400 measurements will help advance the state-of-the-art technology used in whole-body counting.

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S400 gamma-ray spectra collected inside and outside of the heavily shielded whole-body counter. K-40 and Tl-208 peaks are greatly suppressed inside the counter [1].

These low-level counting techniques can be applied to material contamination monitors inside nuclear power plants. Placing an S400 inside a small article monitor (SAM) can help determine whether radioactivity is natural, e.g. radon, or reactor-made, e.g. Cs-137, Co-58, Co-60, etc.

Contact H3D or Dr. David Goodman (dgoodman@h3dgamma.com) directly for more information about CdZnTe-based gamma-ray spectroscopy.

[1] Wang et. al, "Experimental investigation on the radiation background inside body counters," Nuclear Science and Technology, 33:20, 2022.