Natural and man-made radioactivity in soils and plants around the research reactor of Inshass

The specific radioactivities of the U-series, ²³²Th, ¹³⁷Cs and ⁴⁰K were measured in soil samples around the Inshass reactor in Cairo, using a γ-ray spectrometer with a HpGe detector. The -activity of ²³⁸U, ²³⁴U and ²³⁵U was measured in the same soil samples by surface barrier detectors after radiochemical separation and the obtained results were compared with the specific activities determined by γ-measurements. The -activity of ²³⁸Pu, ^239+240Pu, ²⁴¹Am, ²⁴²Cm and ²⁴⁴Cm was measured after radiochemical separation by surface barrier detectors for both soil and plant samples. Then β-activity of ²⁴¹Pu was measured using liquid scintillation spectrometry.