ASTM_C_1402_-_17.pdf

Designation:C140217Standard Guide forHigh-Resolution Gamma-Ray Spectrometry of Soil Samples1This standard is issued under the fixed designation C1402;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide covers the identification and quantitativedetermination of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides in soilsamples by means of gamma-ray spectrometry.It is applicableto nuclides emitting gamma rays with an approximate energyrange of 20 to 2000 keV.For typical gamma-ray spectrometrysystems and sample types,activity levels of about 5 Bq(135pCi)are measured easily for most nuclides,and activity levelsas low as 0.1 Bq(2.7 pCi)can be measured for many nuclides.It is not applicable to radionuclides that emit no gamma rayssuch as the pure beta-emitting radionuclides hydrogen-3,carbon-14,strontium-90,and becquerel quantities of mosttransuranics.This guide does not address the in situ measure-ment techniques,where soil is analyzed in place withoutsampling.Guidance for in situ techniques can be found in Ref(1)and(2).2This guide also does not discuss methods fordetermining lower limits of detection.Such discussions can befound in Refs(3),(4),(5),and(6).1.2 This guide can be used for either quantitative or relativedeterminations.For quantitative assay,the results are expressedin terms of absolute activities or activity concentrations of theradionuclides found to be present.This guide may also be usedfor qualitative identification of the gamma-ray emitting radio-nuclides in soil without attempting to quantify their activities.It can also be used to only determine their level of activitiesrelative to each other but not in an absolute sense.Generalinformation on radioactivity and its measurement may befound in Refs(7),(8),(9),(10),and(11)and Standard TestMethods E181.Information on specific applications of gamma-ray spectrometry is also available in Refs(12)or(13).PracticeD3649 may be a valuable source of information.1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.4 This standard may involve hazardous material,operations,and equipment.This standard does not purport toaddress all of the safety concerns,if any,associated with itsuse.It is the responsibility of the user of this standard toestablish appropriate safety and health practices and deter-mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.1.5 This international standard was developed in accor-dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-ization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards,Guides and Recom-mendations issued by the World Trade Organization TechnicalBarriers to Trade(TBT)Committee.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:3C859 Terminology Relating to Nuclear MaterialsC998 Practice for Sampling Surface Soil for RadionuclidesC999 Practice for Soil Sample Preparation for the Determi-nation of RadionuclidesC1009 Guide for Establishing and Maintaining a QualityAssurance Program forAnalytical Laboratories Within theNuclear IndustryD3649 Practice for High-Resolution Gamma-Ray Spectrom-etry of WaterD7282 Practice for Set-up,Calibration,and Quality Controlof Instruments Used for Radioactivity MeasurementsE181 Test Methods for Detector Calibration and Analysis ofRadionuclidesIEEE/ASTM-SI-10 Standard for Use of the InternationalSystem of Units(SI)the Modern Metric System2.2 ANSI Standards:4N13.30 Performance Criteria for RadiobioassayN42.14 Calibration and Use of Germanium Spectrometersfor the Measurement of Gamma-Ray Emission Rates ofRadionuclidesN42.23 American National Standard Measurement and As-sociated InstrumentationIEEE-325 Standard TestProceduresforGermaniumGamma-Ray Detectors1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C26 on Nuclear FuelCycle and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C26.05 on Methods of Test.Current edition approved June 1,2017.Published July 2017.Originally approvedin 1998.Last previous edition approved in 2009 as C1402 04(2009).DOI:10.1520/C1402-17.2The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references at the end ofthis standard.3For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.4Available from American National Standards Institute(ANSI),25 W.43rd St.,4th Floor,New York,NY 10036,http:/www.ansi.org.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United StatesThis international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization establishe