Matrix effects in the activity measurement of environmental samples—implementation of specific corrections in a gamma-ray spectrometry analysis program

Based on Monte Carlo simulations, a fast and accurate algorithm for the evaluation of the self-attenuation effects in γ-rays spectrometry has been developed. Using standard compositions for typical environmental samples (but allowing for density variations), an efficient procedure to compute on-line the self-attenuation corrections has been implemented in a dedicated γ-ray analysis program (Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, Bucharest).