Importance of covariances for uncertainty estimates in measurement of radionuclide mixtures by multichannel counting

Multichannel counting is often used when samples containing a mixture of kn own radionuclides are measured. Solutions to this method have been presente d but to our knowledge, none of them took into account the covariances for evaluating the uncertainty of measurement. This paper presents new solution s for estimating uncertainties in measurement of radionuclide mixtures by m ultichannel counting and shows that covariances may contribute significantl y to uncertainty of measurement so that they must be evaluated. (C) 2000 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.