Preparation and validation of laboratory radioactive standards for experimental calibration in gamma ray spectrometry

The procedure of radioactive standards preparation by spiking selected matrices with a certified mixture of radionuclides and its validation is presented in this paper. The uncertainty budget of standard total activity was elaborated in details. The experimentally obtained efficiency curves, as well as comparison with the curves obtained by the efficiency transfer, are presented. Additionally, in order to confirm claimed homogeneity of prepared standard bulk materials, the efficiency versus density dependence for the individual gamma ray energies was checked for the same geometries and the results are presented. The results of the participation in recent IAEA PT scheme are discussed also.

Automated summary

This paper presents the procedure of preparing radioactive standards by spiking selected matrices with a certified mixture of radionuclides and validating it. The uncertainty budget of standard total activity is elaborated in detail. The experimentally obtained efficiency curves are compared with the curves obtained by the efficiency transfer, and the homogeneity of prepared standard bulk materials is confirmed by checking the efficiency versus density dependence for individual gamma ray energies. Additionally, the results of participation in recent IAEA PT scheme are discussed.