AN EASY, CHEAP AND SCALABLE METHOD TO CHECK FOR RADIOACTIVITY IN INPUT COMMODITIES AND RAW MATERIAL

ABSTRACT Some release of radionuclides into the environment can be expected from the growing number of nuclear plants, either in or out of service, most of them obsolete. The citizen and the big organization both could be interested in methods for checking the radiological safety of commodities, starting from foods and of their environment. Current technology allows almost everybody to become an active node of a network of environmental sensors, with a huge production of valuable data. Four methods to detect radioactivity are discussed and compared in this work. They are different in technology, sensitivity, resolution and cost but interesting to build a working detection and measurement chain which can start from a diffused and networked first screening to the final high resolution analysis. The results of the analyses of food samples are presented with gamma spectra of reference sources. The reported results can be usefully transferred into a radiological emergency scenario, but their more interesting value could be found in the implications on current everyday life.