The use of a high-purity germanium detector for routine measurements of 125I in radiation workers.

A high-purity germanium detector was calibrated for the assessment of 125I uptake in the thyroid gland of radiation workers. A cylindrical water phantom (perspex walls) with high flexibility for position and size of the thyroid was constructed. Within a massive shielding chamber built for a whole-body counter, an activity of 2.2 Bq was detectable (MDA). This is well below the very restrictive limiting value of 20 Bq for inhalation specified by Austrian law. An activity of 128 Bq was measured with a statistical uncertainty of 5% in a counting period of 10 min. Various parameters influencing the result are investigated as well as the performance of two other measurement geometries outside the shielding chamber.