• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.29-40
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• 1988

A spectrum-exposure rate conversion operator G(E) for a portable HPGe detector used for field environmental radiation survey was theoretically developed on the basis of a space distribution function of gamma flux emitted from a disk source and an areal efficiency of the detector. The radiation exposure rates measured using this G(E) and the portable HPGe. detector connected to a portable multichannel analyzer were compared with those measured by a 3' ${\phi}\;{\times}$3' NaI(Tl) scintillation detector with the reported G(E) and a pressurized ionization chamber. A comparison of the three results showed that the result obtained using the HPGe detector was lower than those determined using the NaI(Tl) detector and ionization chamber by 17% to 29%, The difference obtained is close to that reported in literature. The method developed here can be easily applicable to obtain a G(E) factor suitable to any detector for detecting the exposure rate of environmental gamma radiation, since the spectrum-exposure rate conversion operator can be calculated by a hand calculator.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2014

IAEA has employed various types of radiation detectors - HPGe, NaI, CZT - for accountancy of nuclear material. Among them, HPGe has been mainly used in verification activities required for high accuracy. Due to its essential cooling component(a liquid-nitrogen cooling or a mechanical cooling system), it is large and heavy and needs long cooling time before use. New hand-held portable HPGe has been developed to address such problems. This paper deals with results of performance evaluation test of the new hand-held portable HPGe prototype which was used during IAEA's inspection activities. Radioactive spectra obtained with the new portable HPGe showed different characteristics depending on types and enrichments of nuclear materials inspected. Also, Gamma-rays from daughter radioisotopes in the decay series of $^{235}U$ and $^{238}U$ and characteristic x-rays from uranium were able to be remarkably separated from other peaks in the spectra. A relative error of enrichment measured by the new portable HPGe was in the range of 9 to 27%. The enrichment measurement results didn't meet partially requirement of IAEA because of a small size of a radiation sensing material. This problem might be solved through a further study. This paper discusses how to determine enrichment of nuclear material as well as how to apply the new hand-held portable HPGe to safeguard inspection. There have been few papers to deal with IAEA inspection activity in Korea to verify accountancy of nuclear material in national nuclear facilities. This paper would contribute to analyzing results of safeguards inspection. Also, it is expected that things discussed about further improvement of a radiation detector would make contribution to development of a radiation detector in the related field.