Three types of photon detectors for in situ measurements

The authors have been involved in the calibration and use of three types of γ- and X-ray detectors for in situ measurements of soil contamination. These three detectors are an N-type, thin-window Ge semiconductor detector (5.0 cm diam.× 2.0 cm deep), a plastic scintillator (30.5 cm × 30.5 cm × 3.8 cm thick), and an array of six CaF2 detectors (each 7.6 cm × 7.6 cm × 0.15 cm thick). The latter two detectors have been used with scanning systems that allow significant areas (say, >100 m2) to be surveyed completely with the aid of either laser-based triangulation or a global positioning system (GPS) to record the precise position for each measurement. Typically, these systems scan at a rate of 15–30 cm/s which allows an area of 100 m2 to covered with the plastic scintillator in about 15 min. The data are telemetered or transferred via RS232 protocol to a computer, providing operators with real-time mapping of the area surveyed and of the measured detector count rate. The “efficiencies” of these detectors have been determined by a combination of measurements of calibrated planar sources and Monte Carlo transport calculations for a variety of source sizes and depths in soil, as well as by comparing these field measurements with independent laboratory sample analysis.