In-ground environmental radioactivity monitoring in the Culpeper Basin, Virginia, using LiF thermoluminescence dosimeters

Abstract

A new environmental in-ground radioactivity monitoring technique using LiF thermoluminescence dosimeters was tested in the Culpeper Basin, Northern Virginia. The dosimeters were buried at a depth of 0.45 m (∼ 18 in.) for approximately four months. There was a significant positive correlation (at the 99.9% confidence level) between the total accumulated radioactivity signal from the dosimeters and the on-site 100 second gamma-ray spectrometer measurements. The minimum-maximum dose rate from the buried thermoluminescence dosimeter measurements was 0.06 to 1.08 mR per day (or 2.5 to 44.5µR per hour).