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 137 Cs and 131 I, by removing the Compton scattering plus other external contributions and resolving peak overlapping within any window. Activity concentrations are presented for 137 Cs, 131 I, 214 Bi, and 214 Pb 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.