IAEA-MEL's underground counting laboratory in Monaco--background characteristics of HPGe detectors with anti-cosmic shielding

P P Povinec; J-F Comanducci; I Levy-Palomo

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.03.019

IAEA-MEL's underground counting laboratory in Monaco--background characteristics of HPGe detectors with anti-cosmic shielding

Appl Radiat Isot. 2004 Aug-Sep;61(2-3):85-93. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.03.019.

Authors

P P Povinec¹, J-F Comanducci, I Levy-Palomo

Affiliation

¹ Marine Environment Laboratory, International Atomic Energy Agency, 4 Quai Antoine ler, Monte-Carlo MC 98000, Monaco. p.povinec@iaea.org

PMID: 15177326
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.03.019

Abstract

The background characteristics of large volume HPGe detectors installed in IAEA-MEL's underground counting laboratory situated at a depth of 35 m water equivalent have been investigated. Both single gamma-ray spectra as well as gamma-ray spectra gated by anti-cosmic shielding made of plastic scintillators are presented. The advantages of anti-cosmic shielding for HPGe detectors, especially in underground counting laboratories operating at shallow depths, are discussed. The authors present several examples of analysis of radionuclides in marine samples by single gamma-ray spectrometers with anti-cosmic shielding, an anti-Compton spectrometer and a Ge-Ge telescope designed for the analysis of low energy gamma-emitters.