Method of photon spectral analysis

A spectroscopic method to rapidly measure the presence of plutonium in soils, filters, smears, and glass waste forms by measuring the uranium L-shell x-ray emissions associated with the decay of plutonium. In addition, the technique can simultaneously acquire spectra of samples and automatically analyze them for the amount of americium and .gamma.-ray emitting activation and fission products present. The samples are counted with a large area, thin-window, n-type germanium spectrometer which is equally efficient for the detection of low-energy x-rays (10-2000 keV), as well as high-energy .gamma. rays (>1 MeV). A 8192- or 16,384 channel analyzer is used to acquire the entire photon spectrum at one time. A dual-energy, time-tagged pulser, that is injected into the test input of the preamplifier to monitor the energy scale, and detector resolution. The L x-ray portion of each spectrum is analyzed by a linear-least-squares spectral fitting technique. The .gamma.-ray portion of each spectrum is analyzed by a standard Ge .gamma.-ray analysis program. This method can be applied to any analysis involving x- and .gamma.-ray analysis in one spectrum and is especially useful when interferences in the x-ray region can be identified from the .gamma.-ray analysis and accommodated during the x-ray analysis.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a method of measuring and analyzing both an x-ray 
and a gamma-ray (.gamma.-ray) spectrum from radionuclides in an unknown 
sample. In addition, during the acquisition of the spectrum, a pair of 
calibration pulser pulses are injected at the preamp at periodic 
intervals. The pulser pulses are processed in the same manner as x- and 
.gamma.-ray pulses to monitor system quality. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Rapid monitoring for transuranic contaminants during a buried waste 
retrieval process is a key to a successful campaign of buried transuranic 
waste retrieval. It is important to track the trend in level of soil 
contamination and smearable surface contamination to assess how well the 
spread of contamination is controlled to avoid exceeding safety and 
operating limits. Therefore, analysis techniques to monitor the presence 
of plutonium in soil, constant air monitor filters, and smearable surface 
contamination at the lowest levels of detection and the quickest time are 
mandatory. 
The purpose of this particular invention is to disclose a method for the 
rapid assay of plutonium in soil by L x- and .gamma.-ray counting 
techniques. The methods reported herein are intended to make an analysis 
technique available for routine use by employing equipment and 
instrumentation that is commercially available and by developing automated 
calibration, counting, and analysis techniques. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention discloses a method and apparatus for measuring the presence 
of plutonium in soils, smears, and filters by counting uranium L x-rays 
produced by the alpha decay of plutonium radioisotopes (usually .sup.239 
Pu). The method involves accumulating both the x-ray and .gamma.-ray 
spectrum in one count so that a spectrometer can simultaneously monitor 
for alpha and beta emitting radionuclides. Application of this apparatus 
with an automatic sample changer allows rapid and automated measurement of 
up to a hundred samples per day in a field-deployable environment. The 
field-deployable unit can be housed in a mobile trailer used for 
evaluating the status of contamination spread during buried transuranic 
waste retrieval. 
This method and apparatus takes advantage of several advances that have 
occurred in Ge spectrometry, as follows: 
1. detector crystals are now routinely produced with crystal diameters &gt;60 
mm and that have energy resolutions of full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) 
of &lt;600 keV at 14 keV; 
2. computer interfaced, 8192 and 16,384 channel analog-to-digital 
converters (ADC) with excellent pulse-height linearities, even with fixed 
conversion time, are commercially available; 
3. precise monitoring of the spectrometer performance is now possible with 
advanced pulser technology; 
4. high-speed, low-cost, and compact laboratory computers with megabyte 
size memories and large (&gt;300 megabyte) hard disks, that can be interfaced 
to germanium (Ge) spectrometers, are in common use; and 
5. germanium (Ge) spectrometer sample changers capable of holding 100 or 
more planchet-type samples and operated under computer control are 
commercially available. 
The result is an analysis system and method that can be operated 
automatically 24 hours a day with a sample changer in a laboratory or 
mobile trailer with 110-V AC power and with a number of built-in quality 
checks to assure quality data and results. 
Soil samples, sufficiently homogeneous for the current counting technique, 
are prepared by sieving and/or milling dry soil to reduce the maximum 
particulate size and thereby reduce photon attenuation variances from 
sample to sample. Sample containers are used that are a few millimeters 
larger in diameter than the detector crystal and are only a few 
millimeters in inside thickness. At present, a typical sample container is 
about 65-mm diameter by about 3-mm thickness and holds 10 to 15 grams (g) 
of soil. 
The detector consists of a large (.about.60-mm diameter), thin-window, 
coaxial-type germanium (Ge) detector capable of efficiently measuring 
photon with energies ranging from 10 to 2000 keV. This type of detector 
not only allows measurement of x-ray emitting radionuclides (e.g., 
plutonium activity via the L x-rays) but also has the ability to detect 
.gamma.-ray emitting radionuclides. 
The spectrometer is equipped with a dual-energy pulser that is injected 
into the test input of a resistive feedback pre-amplifier. The pulser 
pulses are identified so that after being processed by the 
analog-to-digital converter, their channel address is digitally offset and 
routed to a region of the spectrum above, and isolated from, the sample 
photon spectrum. The pulser peaks are used to accurately monitor the gain 
(this allows correction for any gain or zero shifts) and system 
resolution, which must have long-term stability in order that the spectral 
fitting analysis techniques are to be successfully used. The pulser, with 
its associated software, is also capable of correcting for pulse pile-up 
when higher activity level samples are encountered. 
The L x-ray and the .gamma.-ray portions of the spectrum are analyzed 
separately. The .gamma.-ray, or higher-energy portion, is automatically 
analyzed in the normal fashion with a .gamma.-ray spectral analysis 
program, e.g., the VAXGAP program. VAXGAP is a code developed at the Idaho 
National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) for routine analysis of .gamma.-ray 
pulse-height spectra on a VAX computer. The lower-energy portion of the 
spectrum containing the L x-rays is automatically analyzed by fitting the 
spectrum with one or more anticipated components from prepared standard 
soil samples. The linear-least-squares fitting of the L x-ray region of 
the composite spectrum with its component spectra yields accurate results. 
The reduced .sub.102 .sup.2 and the uncertainties of the individual 
components are a measure of the quality of the fit. This analysis program 
is designed to require little operator intervention. 
The shape of the sample container permits use of a commercially available 
planchet automatic sample changer with modifications to accommodate the 
larger diameter sample container, i.e., up to 70-mm diameter instead of a 
50-mm diameter planchet. The results to date indicate that measurements of 
100 pCi/g of .sup.239 Pu in soil can be made in a 15-minute count time 
with an accuracy of better than 15% (one estimated standard deviation). 
Detection limits of less than 50 pCi/g of plutonium in soil can be 
achieved in this count time. Application of this technique to other 
measurements of spectra containing both x- and .gamma.-ray information 
(e.g., neutron dosimeter wires and foils) will be demonstrated in the 
future. 
This analysis methodology consists of the hardware and software to acquire 
and analyze both high-energy-resolution x- and .gamma.-ray spectral data 
with a Ge (one detector) spectrometer equipped with a dual-energy pulser 
with subsequent storage of the pulser data separate from the photon 
spectrum. Pulser pulses are processed through the pulse processing 
circuitry, digitally offset, and stored in a region above and separated 
from the photon (x and .gamma.) spectrum. The functions of a dual-energy 
pulser are: 
a) to provide a continuous measure of the energy scale of the entire 
spectrum (x- and .gamma.-ray region); 
b) to monitor the performance of the spectrometer by monitoring the 
full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of the pulser pulses; 
c) to measure and permit correction for pulse pile-up when high-activity 
level samples are counted; and 
d) to provide an accurately measured zero intercept and gain for each 
spectrum as measured by the precision pulser for the x- and .gamma.-ray 
analysis programs. If the sample spectrum, due to drift, becomes gain or 
zero shifted relative to the previously acquired standardized x-ray 
spectral components, the spectrum can be automatically zero or gain 
shifted to realign the sample spectrum with the component spectra prior to 
performing the linear-least-squares fit. 
Computer subroutines interpret the pulser data and, by a process of 
cross-correlating the pulser peaks with a unit Gaussian-shaped function, 
permit the pulser peaks to be analyzed as if they were .gamma.-ray peaks. 
The dual-energy pulser is periodically calibrated with a radioactive 
source emitting .gamma.-rays and x-rays whose energies are precisely known 
and span the energy range of interest (a source containing .sup.57 Co - 
14, 122, and 136 keV, .sup.60 Co - 1173 and 1332 keV, and .sup.137 Cs - 
661 keV was used for calibration). The pulser will maintain its energy 
calibration over a period of weeks to months. 
Computer subroutines can also provide communication between the .gamma.-ray 
and x-ray analysis programs to permit automatic inclusion or exclusion of 
certain spectral components (radionuclides) determined to be present or 
absent from analysis of the .gamma.-ray portion of the spectrum. Inclusion 
or exclusion of these spectral components in the fitting of the x-ray 
region can significantly improve the accuracy and precision of the x-ray 
results. 
Quality-assurance checks are provided separately by the .gamma.-ray 
analysis program (reported uncertainties in the energies and emission 
rates, and the confidence level of the radionuclide identification), the 
spectral fitting of the x-ray region (the uncertainties in each x-ray 
component and the quality of the least-squares fit), and the pulser with 
its analysis program (variation, as a function of time, in the measured 
energy scale, and in the width of the pulser peaks). When a radionuclide 
can be analyzed from both the x- and .gamma.-ray analysis programs, the 
results may be compared, e.g., the 59 keV .gamma.-ray and the L x-rays 
from .sup.241 Am decay can provide a documented set of internally verified 
analysis data. 
This method has application to any spectral acquisitions and analysis that 
contains useful and complimentary information in both the x-ray and 
.gamma.-ray regions of a spectrum. Some examples of this method of 
analysis are: 
a) analysis for uranium or plutonium in soils, sludges, air filters, 
smears, etc. from waste streams or contaminated soils that may also 
contain activation and fission products; 
b) instrumental neutron and particle activation analysis of samples that 
contain, in addition to .gamma.-ray-emitting radionuclides, radionuclides 
that emit higher levels of x-rays relative to their .gamma.-ray emission 
(e.g., certain rare earth elements); and 
c) analysis of .sup.93m Nb and other x-ray emitting flux monitors 
containing impurities, e.g., .sup.94 Nb and .sup.182 Ta, that must be 
considered if large analysis uncertainties or errors are to be avoided. 
The analysis method that uses a photon spectrometer generally stated 
comprises the steps of: 
preparing a plurality of unknown activity samples of the medium within 
sample containers; 
preparing a set of calibration samples consisting of samples having known 
activities of high-purity radionuclides and a clean background sample 
measuring response spectra of the calibration samples with a Ge 
spectrometer; 
measuring the radionuclide activities or activity concentrations from the 
spectra associated with the plurality of unknown activity samples; 
injecting a low- and high-energy pulse into a spectrometer preamplifier 
circuit while accumulating the above spectra thereby providing an energy 
calibration signal at a periodic interval; 
analyzing a .gamma.-ray energy region of spectra from the unknown activity 
samples using a non-linear peak-fitting function; 
analyzing an x-ray energy region of the spectra from the unknown activity 
samples using a linear-least-squares spectral fitting method by fitting 
the spectra of the plurality of unknown activity samples with the response 
spectra of the calibration samples; 
computing and displaying a Chi-square number and a "quality of fit" value 
of the x-ray region data wherein a quality-of-fit value (also referred to 
as the reduced Chi-square) of less than two (2) indicates a good 
correlation with known samples and a value greater than two (2) indicates 
a poor correlation with the known samples; 
displaying the quality-of-fit value and a calculated channel-by-channel 
residual when the quality-of-fit value is greater than two (2); and 
displaying an activity value for each nuclide. 
Other objects, advantages, and capabilities of the present invention will 
become more apparent as the description proceeds.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 is a block flow diagram of the inventive method and system of the 
x-ray and .gamma.-ray spectrum analyzer. The detector 10 signal inputs to 
a pre-amplifier 16 and linear amplifier 18. A pulse pile-up rejector 20 
may be installed when high count rates are anticipated. The pulse signal 
is converted from analog to digital by the ADC 22. A pulser equipped ADC 
has been designed and demonstrated for a Canberra model No. 8076 and a 
Nuclear Data model No. ND580 series. 
The detector 10 consists of a large area (60-mm dia.), thin window, 
coaxial-type Ge detector capable of efficiently measuring photons (x and 
.gamma. rays) 12 and 14 with energies ranging from about 8 keV to greater 
than 2000 keV. This type of detector not only allows measurement of 
plutonium and americium activities via emitted L x-rays and .sup.241 Am 
via either its L x-rays and 26-keV .gamma.-ray or the 60-keV .gamma.-rays 
but is also capable of efficiently detecting .gamma.-rays from other 
radionuclides. 
The spectrometer is equipped with a dual-energy pulser 22 that injects 
periodic rectangular-shaped pulses into the test input of the resistive 
feedback pre-amplifier 16, as determined by a pulser control and 
separation logic 24. The pulser has been developed over a 20-year time 
frame by EG&G Idaho, Inc. The pulser is a miniaturized control package 
about 2".times.1".times.1/4" and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,889 
having a common assignee with the instant disclosure. The pulser operates 
at about 100 Hz (50 Hz each) and in the application described herein emits 
a first lower-energy pulse 26 of .about.12 keV and a higher-energy pulse 
28 of .about.1330 keV, as controlled by logic module 24. The lower- and 
upper-energy pulser pulses 26 and 28 are time tagged so that after being 
processed by the ADC 22 their channel addresses are increased by addition 
of respective constants to route them to regions of the spectrum above, 
and isolated from, the photon spectrum, as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in 
the example spectrum of FIG. 2 (from another pulser application) , the 
lower-energy pulse channel has been increased from channel 724 at 30 by 
the offset of 7312 to channel 8036 at 32. Similarly, higher-energy pulse 
34 at 7230 has been increased to channel 8124 at 36 by the offset of 894. 
These offset calibration pulses are beyond the .gamma.-energy range. The 
positions of the pulser peaks, together with their previously measured 
energy equivalent, are used to determine two parameters (a and b) of the 
energy-channel relationship of equation (1): 
EQU E(x)=a+bx+cx.sup.2 Eq.(1) 
where 
E(x)=photon energy 
a, b, and c=constants 
x=channel position. 
Similarly, the width of a Gaussian peak in channel x of the calibration 
standard spectrum is determined by the following equation: 
EQU w(x).sub.c =w.sub.0 +dx Eq.(2) 
where 
w(x).sub.c =width at channel x 
w.sub.0 =width at channel zero 
d=constant. 
The .gamma.-ray peak widths for sample spectra [w(x).sub.s ] are determined 
with the following equation: 
EQU w(x).sub.s ={[(W.sub.pi).sup.2 -(W.sub.pc).sup.2 ]+[w.sub.0 +dx].sup.2 
}.sup.1/2 Eq.(3) 
where 
W.sub.pi =pulser width for the sample spectrum 
W.sub.pc =pulser width for the calibration spectrum. 
The ratio of the area of a pulser peak to the number emitted by the pulser 
gives the correction for pulse pile-up or random summing. 
The output from the separation logic module 24 with the digital pulse 
counts from the sample 38 is processed by the multichannel analyzer (MCA) 
40 which stores the data until completion of a typical count time. 
Data is further analyzed in computer 42 where the .gamma.-ray data is 
analyzed using a spectral analysis program, i.e. VAX Gamma-Ray Analysis 
Package (VAXGAP). Information from the .gamma.-ray analysis, that may be 
useful in determining any additional x-ray components needed for the x-ray 
spectral analysis, is furnished to the x-ray analysis program. The x-ray 
data is analyzed using a linear-least-squares method to determine 
Chi-squared (.chi..sup.2), quality-of-fit value, residuals and activity 
(or activity concentration) for each spectral component. Data is printed 
on computer printer 44 at printout 46. 
Sample Preparation. Soil samples are prepared by a radiochemist by sieving 
and/or milling dry soil to reduce the maximum particle size to less than 
&lt;200 mesh (i.e., &lt;0.074 mm). The effects of "hot" particles within the 
sample are reduced by the relatively large sample (i.e., relative to 
typical radioanalytical sample sizes of &lt;1 g) and by the sieving and/or 
milling process. By use of a large area Ge detector in combination with a 
thin sample container, an average transmission out of the sample of about 
40% for uranium L x-rays can be achieved. Sample containers with a 
diameter of 65 mm are used; they are a few millimeters (mm) larger in 
diameter than the detector crystal (.about.60-mm). The thickness of the 
sample container is 3 to 5 mm to balance the opposing effects of the 
sample size and the variance in attenuation from sample to sample. There 
are two sizes of sample containers: one with a 65-mm inside diameter and a 
5-mm inside depth, and the other with the same inside diameter but a 3-mm 
inside depth. Initially, a spacer was made from aluminum stock (65-mm 
diameter by 2-mm thickness) so that data could be acquired for a 3-mm 
thick sample using the 5-mm deep container containing the spacer when the 
3-mm deep container had not been produced. The sample containers are made 
of either acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polymethyl penetene 
(TPX) plastic. The lid, through which the sample is counted, is less than 
1-mm in thickness. The 3-mm deep sample container holds approximately 12 
grams of sieved soil and the 5-mm deep sample container holds 
approximately 20 grams. The soil is loaded into a sample container by 
partially filling the container with soil and lightly tapping the 
container on a hard surface to settle it; this process is repeated until 
the container is full. A straight edge may be lightly drawn over the top 
surface of the soil prior to covering it with a lid to remove excess soil 
and level it. This procedure provides a reproducible method of loading the 
sample container and reduces the amount of settling of the soil sample 
inside the container over time. 
The linear-least-squares spectral fitting technique has been applied in 
this present method to the analysis of the L x-ray region of the spectra. 
This technique consists of measuring the spectral response of the detector 
for single (pure) radionuclides anticipated to be in the unknown sample, 
i.e., in the case of plutonium several Pu isotopes are actually present in 
the component. The number of radionuclide components, m, is not limited by 
the mathematics but, as a practical matter, should not exceed about five. 
These response functions (spectra) can be normalized to correspond to a 
specific number of decays of the radionuclide or .sup.239 Pu "equivalent" 
in the case of plutonium. When a spectrum of an unknown sample has been 
acquired, these individual spectral components are combined by 
linear-least-squares fitting to determine the contribution of each 
component. The following equations are used to solve for "S.sub.j ", the 
standardization coefficients. That is, in the following equation the 
standardization coefficients, S.sub.j, are determined which minimize the 
sum of the squares of the residuals. Here, R.sub.ij are the response 
spectrum functions, and N.sub.i are the counts in channel i in the 
spectrum from the unknown sample. 
##EQU1## 
W.sub.i is the weighting factor for channel i of the spectrum from the 
unknown sample and is normally the square of the estimated inverse 
standard deviation or 1/N.sub.i. L and U are the lower and upper channel 
limits over which the linear-least-squares spectral fit is performed. 
At the minimum of R.sup.2, we have m equations of the form: 
EQU dR.sup.2 /dS.sub.j =0 Eq.(5) 
and 
.chi..sup.2 =R.sup.2 
where 
j=1,m and 
.chi..sup.2 =Chi-square. 
The information regarding the contribution of each component, in the case 
of actinide analysis, is contained in the energy region between about 10 
and 30 keV [channels 40(L) to 256(U)]; only this portion of the unknown 
spectrum is fitted by linear least squares. In this way, the sensitivity 
and accuracy of the fit is optimized. Further, since an uncertainty is 
deduced for each standardization coefficient, S.sub.j, and a Chi-square 
(.chi..sup.2) is reported, the quality of fit can be easily assessed. The 
quality of fit equals .chi..sup.2 /(degrees of freedom). If the quality of 
fit is poor, e.g., greater than 2.0, the fit can be redone with more or 
fewer component spectra, with a different set of calibration spectra 
(component spectra) that better represents the sample matrix, or with the 
response spectra after gain or zero shifting the unknown spectrum. 
Measurement of L x-Ray Response Spectra. Measurement of the L x-ray 
response spectra for plutonium and americium involved the preparation of a 
set of three "standard" samples of clean soil having a consistent 
composition and simulating the composition of the unknown samples to be 
analyzed. If different types of soil samples (density, elemental, or Pu 
isotopic composition) are anticipated, additional sets of response spectra 
shall be obtained. The three calibration samples within each set consisted 
of an unspiked (no added radionuclides) sample, a sample spiked uniformly 
with a known activity of high purity Pu (1000 pCi/g of .sup.239 Pu 
equivalent), and one spiked with a known activity of high purity .sup.241 
Am (1000 pCi/g). Depending upon the samples being analyzed, other x-ray 
spectra of interfering radionuclides may be included as component 
standards (response spectra). After installation of the spectrometer, 
individual spectra of each calibration standard from each set were 
acquired for a known time (.about.10,000 seconds) and at the same energy 
scale. These spectra provide spectral shapes and intensities for known 
amounts of radionuclides plutonium and americium present as shown in FIGS. 
3 and 4. Sufficient statistics in each calibration spectrum were acquired 
so that the associated statistical uncertainty can be considered 
negligible relative to the statistical uncertainty of the "unknown" sample 
spectra. This is accomplished by using extended count periods. The energy 
scale for each spectrum is measured by the dual-energy pulser peaks 
present in each spectrum and (if necessary) the energy scales are adjusted 
prior to analysis to make them all the same. 
L x-Ray Calibration for Plutonium and Americium. After establishing a file 
of response spectra (i.e., .sup.239 Pu, .sup.241 Am, and background), a 
calibration curve may be prepared. Spectra of other "mixed" standards 
containing known activities over the range of interest for Pu (.sup.241 Am 
also is in samples) are acquired for known times and at the same energy 
scale as used to acquire the response spectra. The activity for each 
radionuclide as a function of standardization coefficients, S.sub.j, can 
be calculated as shown in Equation 6: 
EQU A.sub.j =F.sub.j S.sub.j A.sub.s (solve for A.sub.j) Eq.(6) 
where 
F.sub.j =the standardization factor (for different counting times) 
A.sub.j =the activity of radionuclide j 
A.sub.s =the activity or normalized activity of the response spectrum 
S.sub.j =standardization coefficient from least-squares fit of Equation 4. 
If the response spectra are normalized to a specific activity, then F.sub.j 
simply normalizes the spectra for different counting times. 
FIG. 5 shows a spectrum from a "mixed" (plutonium and americium) standard 
of plutonium in soil with the least-squares fit results overlaid. The sum 
of squares value .chi..sup.2, if a low number, indicates a good fit as 
opposed to higher numbers indicating a poor fit and possibly one or more 
missing components spectra or a significant difference in the component 
and composite spectra due to differences in energy resolution or peak 
shape. 
The composite data 50 is data from a prepared sample of the "mixed" (and 
known radioactivity) standard sample. Spectrum 52 is from the pure 
plutonium calibration standard, and spectrum 54 is that from the pure 
americium standard. It can be determined by visual inspection that the 
peaks of spectrum 52 and 54 at each channel approximates the composite 50 
spectrum peaks. 
In FIG. 5, the background radioactivity was not subtracted from the 
composite spectra data nor each pure calibration spectra. Therefore, in 
the least-squares process, the background component was negative and is 
not shown in FIG. 5. (Normally, the background is subtracted from the 
component spectra prior to their storage as components since the 
background associated with an unknown sample may be different in shape or 
activity from that of the components. Under these conditions, the 
background will appear as a positive component in the fitting process.) 
The Chi-square divided by the degrees of freedom is a measure of the 
quality of the least-squares spectral fit and should lie below 2.0 as is 
the case for the spectrum in FIG. 5. 
Experimental Sample Acquisition and Analysis. Samples that were treated as 
unknown amounts of plutonium, americium, and other x-ray and .gamma.-ray 
emitting radionuclides were prepared and counted in the same manner as the 
calibration samples and "mixed" standards but were counted for shorter 
times. The spectra were fitted with the response spectra in the same 
manner as with the "mixed" standard except the measured standardization 
coefficient, S.sub.j, was related to activity through the normalization 
factor, F.sub.j, as shown in Equations 5 and 6. If a poor quality of fit 
(e.g., greater than 2) is encountered, then the source of the poor fit 
should be investigated. In some cases, as indicated above, a new 
calibration source set may need to be prepared if the unknown sample 
matrix is different than that of the existing calibration set. 
In order to determine the accuracy achievable with this method, "mixed" 
standards of plutonium containing 103 pCi/g of .sup.239 Pu and a smaller 
amount of .sup.241 Am were prepared, counted, and analyzed as if they were 
samples. The results from 900-second and 1800-second counts and the lower 
limit of detection (LLD) are presented in Table 1. Note that plutonium 
activity levels as low as 103 pCi/g can be measured in the presence of 4 
pCi of .sup.241 Am per gram of soil to an accuracy of 13% in a 900-second 
count. 
TABLE 1 
______________________________________ 
Measured .sup.239 Pu Activity Concentrations In Soil 
(Mixed Standards) 
Count Time, 
Activity Concentration (pCi/g) 
Projected LLD 
seconds (s) 
Actual Measured (pCi/g) 
______________________________________ 
900 103.0 .+-. 1.4 
111 .+-. 14(13%) 
42 
1800 103.0 .+-. 1.4 
98 .+-. 11(12%) 
33 
______________________________________ 
Detection Limits and Quality Assurance. The method outlined by L. A. Currie 
["Analytical Chemistry", 40 (1968) p. 586] for the determination of lower 
limits of detection (LLD) that meet specific statistical criteria is in 
wide use and is recommended here. However, since several radio-nuclides 
and their associated spectral components overlap and contribute to a 
sample spectrum, none of the regions of interest are free of 
interferences. Therefore, in this application, the detection limits for 
plutonium and americium in soil are most easily determined by relating 
them to the estimated standard deviation in the measured activity. 
When the number of counts in the energy region of interest of the 
background spectrum is greater than about 42 counts (over 50 counts are in 
the energy region of interest in background spectrum for a 900 second 
count time), simple "working" expressions may be stated for the detection 
limit as defined by Currie. When the uncertainty in the standardization 
coefficient, which relates the amount of a component present to the 
activity, is (.sigma..sub.b /S)100=30.4% (.sigma..sub.b is the standard 
deviation of the clean (blank soil) sample and S is the net signal), the 
amount of component present is considered to be at the detection limit, 
LLD. The LLD values as reported in Table 1 have been deduced based upon 
measured activities and associated uncertainties for real samples whose 
activities are within a factor of two or three of the deduced detection 
limit. 
One advantage that the dual-energy pulser will provide is an accurate 
energy calibration for all spectra. This energy calibration is especially 
valuable for those spectra associated with radionuclides emitting only one 
photon or with all photons grouped within a small energy range (e.g., 
x-rays from an element). As a result, all linear-least-squares fitting can 
be performed at essentially the same energy scale since the x-ray spectra 
can be shifted to that scale. The pulser not only will provide an energy 
calibration it also will provide a measure of the detector resolution. If 
a detector begins to deteriorate or noise enters the system, it is 
observed in the measured width of the pulser peaks. Further, correction 
for pulse pile-up, although not anticipated when counting environmental 
level 10 samples, can be automatically applied from information in the 
pulser peaks, i.e., ratio of pulser pulses counted divided by pulser 
pulses injected during the count time. These features of the pulser will 
provide excellent quality control for data acquired by this spectrometer 
system. 
Information on the quality of the results from the linear-least-squares fit 
is provided by the quality of fit and the channel-by-channel residuals 
that are provided. Channel-by-channel residuals are equal to the 
differences between the measured counts and the sum of the counts of the 
components for each channel (see Equation 4). Table 2 is a printout 
showing the raw standardization coefficients and the quality-of-fit (QF) 
value resulting from a fit. The QF value of 1.26 indicates that: (a) a 
high-quality fit has been achieved and that all significant spectral 
components were represented in the fit; (b) that the energy scale was 
satisfactory; and (c) that sample matrices of standards and unknown 
samples were similar. In cases where the quality-of-fit value is large, a 
printout of the channel-by-channel residuals between the one sample 
spectrum and the sum of the component spectra allows the operator to 
identify spectral regions in which the fit is poor and address the cause. 
All of the above analysis features contribute to ensuring the quality of 
the least-squares spectral fitting process and the resulting measured 
activities. 
TABLE 2 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
Intensities for a 1800 s Live-Time Count of 12 g soil sample. 
Standard Measured Activity 
Detection Limit 
Spectrum 
S.sub.j 
Deviation 
Nuclide 
(pCi/g of soil) 
(pCi/g of soil) 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
Composite 
Standard 
0.00267882 
0.00068745 
.sup.241 Am 
3.97 .+-. 26% 
not determined 
Standard 
0.01349531 
0.00155421 
.sup.239 Pu 
98 .+-. 12% 
33 
Standard 
0.07446890 
0.00978765 
background 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
Degrees of Freedom (DF) = 97, Quality of Fit (QF) number = 1.259, the Sum 
squares residuals = 122 = X.sup.2, where QF = X.sup.2 /DF. 
The L x-ray spectrum measurement technique presented herein has been 
demonstrated to have the capability to analyze .about.12 g soil samples 
contaminated by plutonium down to 50 pCi/g for count times as short as 15 
minutes (900 seconds). Spectral fitting of the sample spectra with 
response spectra permit this process to be performed automatically with 
built-in quality-assurance checks. Analysis of .gamma.-ray emitting 
radionuclides is achieved by the use of a .gamma.-ray spectral analysis 
package on the upper portion of the same photon spectrum as accumulated 
for the L x-ray spectrum. It is believed that this technique can be 
expanded to the analysis of a variety of other x-ray and 7-ray emitting 
samples (e.g., flux monitors), samples contained on filter paper (e.g., 
particulate material on air filters), and from different waste forms 
(e.g., glass). With modifications, this system can be incorporated into a 
portable, battery-powered, in-field instrument. 
While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, various 
modes of carrying out the principles disclosed herein are contemplated as 
being within the scope of the following claims. Therefore, it is 
understood that the scope of the invention is not to be limited except as 
otherwise set forth in the claims.