Measurement of natural radionuclides in phosphgypsum using an anti-cosmic gamma-ray spectrometer

Gamma-ray spectrometry measurements have been carried out to determine the activity of natural radionuclides in a phosphogypsum sample included in a specific tight container. The gamma spectrometer includes an N-type coaxial high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector equipped with an anti-cosmic system. This measurement required the determination of linear attenuation coefficients of phosphogypsum to calculate self-absorption correction between efficiency calibration conditions and measurement ones. The results are given for the three natural chains and for 40K, in term of specific activity/g of dry material, ranging from a few Bq kg−1 to a few hundreds Bq kg−1. The equilibrium within the different families and the 235U/238U ratio are discussed.