Spectral windows analysis method for monitoring anthropogenic radionuclides in real-time environmental gamma-ray scintillation spectrometry

This paper proposes an analysis methodology based on the spectral windows technique aimed for environmental real-time gamma-ray spectra obtained with scintillation detectors. The method permits us to monitor activity concentrations of selected isotopes, such as anthropogenic radionuclides like ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³¹I, by removing the Compton scattering plus other external contributions and resolving peak overlapping within any window. Activity concentrations are presented for ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³¹I, ²¹⁴Bi, and ²¹⁴Pb when applying the method to a monitor using a LaBr₃(Ce) detector. The method avoids false-positive and false-negative results of anthropogenic radionuclides in the presence of radiation from natural origins by obtaining activity concentrations that correspond to those obtained by a Gaussian fitting commercial software.