1. Use of pre-existing radioelements

1.1 General

Radioelements present in the natural environment have several origins: cosmic, genesis of the Universe and human activities. The identification and measurement of the radioactivity of these elements is carried out in most cases, either for health control purposes, or for provenance or dating studies. The equipment used depends on the nature and intensity of the radiation emitted (α, β or γ). The method is simple, highly sensitive and often rapid for radioisotopes with half-lives that are not too long. The different types of detectors used for these measurements are described in two separate articles: Detection and measurement of nuclear and other radiation Radiometric...