IAEA-MEL's underground counting laboratory (CAVE) for the analysis of radionuclides in the environment at very low-levels

An underground laboratory for low-level gamma- and beta-spectrometry has been constructed at IAEA-MEL, Monaco, for the analysis of environmental radionuclides. The laboratory is situated at a depth of 35 m water equivalent underground and equipped with 4, large volume HPGe detectors placed in a common lead shield with anti-cosmic plastic scintillator shielding. There is also an anti-Compton gamma-spectrometer, comprized of an HPGe detector and NaI(Tl) shielding, and finally, a Quantulus liquid scintillation spectrometer. The performance of the gamma-spectrometers with different shielding settings/adjustments are discussed, as well as their possible applications in the analysis of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in the marine environment. (author)