In situ hot spot measurements with HPGe detector 0.1 M above ground

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of an accurate in situ measurement of radioactive hot spots by a HPGe detector located at a height of 0.1 m above the surface, thus sparing the awkward use of a heavy collimator required at the standard 1 m height. Radioactivity concentrations of primordial naturally occurring 40K, 232Th, 238U and of anthropogenic 137Cs in a sand plot were measured in situ at the two heights. Independently, six fractions of a soil profile collected in the site were measured in the laboratory. Good agreement was found between the results of the two geometries and the soil samples. Good agreement between measured and predicted radioactivity concentration values was obtained for hot spots simulated by uniform planar sources of 40K, 60Co and 137Cs having a circular pattern 0.5 m in diameter. The study shows that an in situ measurement without a collimator but close to a hot spot can provide a reliable result.