Scientists have found traces of radioactive elements even after their removal

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique

locating radioactivematerials. It allows the use of ordinary building materials as a source, relying on residual gamma radiation signals. Researchers can take pictures of radioactive materials even after they have been removed from the surface.

“This study is based on ourthe previous work, which was an empirical demonstration of the fact that we can turn a brick into a gamma-ray spectrometer characterizing the energy distribution of the source, ”said Robert Hayes, associate professor of nuclear engineering and lead author of the study.

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Scientists explained that using the new methodthey can take almost any array of materials and turn them into a "camera" of gamma radiation, characterizing the location and distribution of the source. In this study, they were able to accurately predict not only the location of plutonium, but even the radius of the source.

Despite the fact that researchers alsoused commercial dosimeters, the results of scientists showed that they could do without them - using only building materials. They explained this by the fact that they only need to measure the silicates in the brick - quartz, feldspars, zircon, which contain traces of hazardous substances. Based on these data, they can obtain information on the size and shape of the radiation source, as well as on the nature of the radioactive material itself.