Determination of the HPGe detector efficiency in measurements of radioactivity in extended environmental samples

A combination of experimental measurements and Monte Carlo (MC) calculations was used to determine the full-energy peak efficiency of a HPGe detector employed in environmental measurements. The manufacturer-provided parameters of the detector were corrected by comparing measured values of the efficiency with those obtained by MC simulations. After the adjustment of the active volume of the detector, the simulated and experimentally measured efficiencies agreed within 1%. A full-energy peak efficiency curve for a new distance was obtained by simulation. The efficiency curve for volumetric samples in the 53-1408 keV energy range was determined using the efficiency transfer method. Geometric and self-absorption correction factors were estimated by experimental measurements, MC calculations or a combination of the two. In addition, the density of two sediment samples was estimated by a transmission measurement experiment and data simulation. Finally, concentrations of 238U and 232Th in two sediment samples from the Caetité region of Brazil were determined with relative uncertainties of about 5%.