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E. T. Clarke
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 27 | Number 2 | February 1967 | Pages 394-402
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE67-A18278
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper reviews the status of experimental and theoretical gamma-radiation intensity at or near an air-ground interface. Various measurements of radiation scattered to a detector 3 ft above an air-ground interface containing a point source of 60Co or 137Cs at various distances are compared with Monte Carlo data and moments method calculations for an infinite homogeneous air medium. Other measurements and calculations of skyshine radiation backscattered by the air under similar circumstances are also analyzed. It is shown that the three approaches - experimental, Monte Carlo, and moments method - produce consistent results for 60Co. For an infinite plane source of 137Cs, however, experimental measurements over ice and over concrete indicate about 20% less scattered radiation over concrete than would be received from the same source in an infinite homogeneous air medium.