ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
Gary L. Catchen, Amos Notea, Brian C. Campbell
Nuclear Technology | Volume 67 | Number 3 | December 1984 | Pages 463-472
Technical Paper | Analyse | doi.org/10.13182/NT84-A33503
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A highly collimated mobile gamma-ray spectrometer constructed by EG&G Idaho has been calibrated for full-energy peak efficiency. This spectrometer contains a high resolution intrinsic germanium detector, and it is designed for making activity measurements inside reactor containment buildings in high radiation fields. Peak efficiencies were determined for point sources positioned on and off the detector-collimator axis over an energy range from 80 to 2800 keV. The off-axis distributions were integrated to give the isotropic disk source efficiencies. These results were compared to those obtained from directly measuring a 24Na-doped aluminum foil “disk.” Theoretical disk source efficiencies were calculated using the point kernel approach. These results were normalized to the on-axis point source efficiencies. The procedure is self-consistent but it requires more detailed measurements in the future in order to provide accurate results. Once the measurements are made, however, the spectrometer system can then be used to accurately assay arbitrary distributions of surface activities. The method is also well suited for use in collimator design because leakage effects can be directly calculated.