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GammaSem: Nordic seminars for users of gamma spectrometry

GammaWiki is a product of the NKS-B GammaSem activity

The activity involves two seminars for users of gamma spectrometry, one was held in 2009 and the second will be held in the autumn of 2010. The seminars focus on practical challenges in gamma spectrometry. Users of gamma spectrometry from Nordic countries are invited.

The GammaSem seminars provide a forum for discussion and sharing of information on practical issues concerning gamma spectrometry and establishing a network of users of gamma spectrometry in the Nordic countries. The network strengthens Nordic collaboration between gamma spectrometry users, and improves competences in practical gamma spectrometry. The funding from NKS contributes to building such a network through contributing to the seminars and work to be done in the time period between them.

The new seminar: 28th-29th September 2010 at Kjeller, Norway

• Dr. Lars-Erik De Geer will give a presentation about the fundamentals of true coincidence summing correction and when/why it is important
• Presentations from work groups
• Presentations from individual participants (e.g. related to work in the work groups)
• Open discussions on future needs and how they should be addressed
• Possibility of workshops after the seminar

More information:

• New: Agenda of seminar
• New: Book of abstracts
• Previous information: First announcement

The 2009 seminar

The seminar in 2009 was attended by 75 participants from 34 organisations. Key issues for follow-up were identified and 6 working groups established on various aspects of gamma spectrometry. The working group topics are:

1. uncertainties and detection limits
2. true coincidence summing corrections
3. Monte Carlo calculations
4. absorption corrections
5. mobile systems, and
6. nuclear forensics.

The topics for the working groups form the basis for the seminar in 2010 where the groups will present results of their work and ideas/solutions to the problems. Each working group will contribute to the final report for the activity. The number of participants of the GammaSem activity has been expanded to include the working group coordinators.

The GammaSem working groups and participants will ensure contact between the gamma spectrometry users between and possibly after the seminars. The participants will organise a web site with a mailing list that will make it easier to contact Nordic colleagues on issues related to gamma spectrometry.    

The NKS-B report on the 2009 seminar

Lead Organization Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway

Contact Person Elisabeth Strålberg

See also the NKS web site, www.nks.org, where specific information on GammaSem can also be found.

GammaSem Working Group information

1. Uncertainties and detection limits
2. True coincidence summing corrections
3. Monte Carlo calculations
4. Absorption corrections
5. Mobile systems
6. Nuclear forensics

Useful resources on the Web

Reference data

Using good quality nuclear data is essential for gamma spectrometry. Recommended data can be obtained from

http://www.nucleide.org/DDEP_WG/DDEPdata.htm

The following web site offers nuclear data that can be extracted from a data base, in accordance with selection rules set by the user (e.g. energy and intensity threshold).

http://laraweb.free.fr

Gordon Gilmore's web

Dr. Gordon Gilmore (who was an invited speaker at the first GammaSem seminar) has for years maintained web sites with useful information on gamma spectrometry, see e.g.:

http://www.gammaspectrometry.co.uk/

SPECON 2000 Spectrum conversion utility

Specon is a converting utility between various spectrum files having various binary formats (SPEctrum CONverter). Many formats of the spectrum are produced by various MCAs and analysis codes such as RUMP and SENRAS. Some of them have not only count data of channels but also experimental conditions or conversion factors which are used for converting channel to some physical values (energy, time and so on). Specon can automatically identify 14 binary formats and three ascii formats. They can be completely converted to each other including experimental information if possible. Viewer has several functions of a simple MCA such as ROI, zoom, background subtraction and comparison of two spectra. Specon can convert the channel from as energy to as time, and vise versa during conversion.

http://www.hongserver.com/Specon/Specon.html

CAMBIO

CAMBIO is a powerful conversion utility and spectrum manipulator primarily aimed at the emergency response community. Cambio is an application intended to automatically read and display any spectrum file of any format in the world that the nuclear emergency response community might encounter - including unknown types. More information may be found at:

http://www.sensornet.gov/net_ready_workshop/George_Lasche_Cambio_Overview.pdf

The software may be obtained by contacting: George Lasche at gplasch at sandia.gov

ETNA (Efficiency Transfer for Nuclide Activity)

ETNA is a user friendly application for conducting efficiency transfer operations and some coincidence summation correction.

Full details can be found in: Efficiency transfer and coincidence summing corrections for g-ray spectrometry Francois Piton, Marie-Christine Lepy*, Marie-Martine Be, Johann Plagnard, Applied Radiation and Isotopes 52 (2000) 791-795

The package can probably be obtained by contacting Marie-Christine Lepy at marie-christine.lepy at cea.fr

TRUECOINC

Truecoinc is a free Windows utility for calculating TCS corrections. It can be obtained by ordering a printed (comes with CD) copy of http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1275_prn.pdf.

Or by download here: http://kisfiz.phys.klte.hu/kisfiz/sudar/truecoinc.htm

References

Wiki info

Editing GammaWiki (only for co-ordinators of GammaSem work groups)