Method for the identification of 60Co in an industrial gamma irradiator

Abstract

This study presents a method for the identification of a set of radioactive sources of 60Co, in an industrial irradiator. This identification was requested by a Mexican regulatory authority. To fulfill this request, a method was developed to make the identification by the gamma spectrometry method. The complexity in the measurement lies in the fact that the set of sources has an activity of 500,000 Ci of 60Co and the identification is complicated because with that gamma intensity one has to have a strategy to reduce the phenomena of saturation, pile up and dead time and achieve that photopeaks generated in the gamma spectrum of the gamma energies of 60Co are clearly visible. A low efficiency and relatively high resolution CZTe detector, was selected, which was placed in an acrylic box with a collimated lead shield to carry out the measurement inside the irradiator pool to reduce scattered radiation and to be able to clearly appreciate the spectrum gamma of 60Co.