Applicability study of using in-situ gamma-ray spectrometry technique for 137Cs and 210Pb(ex) inventories measurement in grassland environments.

In-situ measurement of fallout radionuclides (137)Cs and (210)Pb(ex) has the potential to assess soil erosion and sedimentation rapidly. In this study, inventories of (137)Cs and (210)Pb(ex) in the soil of Inner Mongolia grassland were measured using an In-situ Object Counting System (ISOCS). The results from the field study indicate that in-situ gamma-ray spectrometry has the following advantages over traditional laboratory measurements: no extra time is required for sample collection, no reference inventories are required, more economic, prompt availability of the results, the ability to average radionuclide inventory over a large area, and high precision.