Preparation and Measurement of Soil Standard Source as a Petri Dish Using 152EuIsotope

Our first observations on nuclear physics labs in universities recorded their need a standard sources for the purpose of calibration gamma spectrometers, especially small size samples that are less than half a liter and specifically the size of the petri dish of that are collected in a small size, for this reason we have prepared and measured standard source for this size using 152Eu Isotope, that can be adopted in the experimental measurements. The prepared sample was measured by the first lab which was in central laboratories directorate / nuclear research center at Tuwaitha, and the second lab was by department of physics/ college of education for pure science/Ibn Al-Haitham/University of Baghdad using Gamma spectroscopy system with a high-purity germanium detector (HPGe). The specific activity of the prepared standard sample was calculated using an efficiency curve, which drawn by using the Monte Carlo Program. The specific activity for sample measurement by lab.1 is equal to (1103.617Bq/kg) and in lab.2 is (942.8344Bq/kg), so the average was equivalent to (1023.226 Bq/kg). From this work, we can use this source to calculate the radioactivity for other radionuclide in small samples (street dust), which is difficult to obtained in large quantities, by a calibration spectrum for efficiency and energy of this prepared source.