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Published on: January 30, 2020
[Radioactive cesium analysis in radiation-tainted beef by gamma-ray spectrometry with germanium semiconductor
Tomiaki Minatani1, Hiroyuki Nagai, Masashi Nakamura
1Gifu Prefectural Research Institute for Health and Environmental Sciences, Gifu, Japan.
Abstract:
The detection limit and precision of radioactive cesium measurement in beef by gamma-ray spectrometry with a germanium semiconductor detector were evaluated. Measurement for 2,000 seconds using a U-8 container (100 mL) provided a detection limit of radioactive cesium (the sum of 134Cs and 137Cs) of around 20 Bq/kg. The 99% confidence interval of the measurement of provisional maximum residue limit level (491 Bq/kg) samples ranged from 447 to 535 Bq/kg. Beef is heterogeneous, containing muscle and complex fat layers. Depending on the sampled parts, the measurement value is variable. It was found that radioactive cesium content of the muscle layer was clearly different from that of fat, and slight differences were observed among parts of the sample (SD=16.9 Bq/kg), even though the same region (neck block) of beef sample was analyzed.
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