For more than three decades, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been a leader in the development of radiation detectors, nuclear metrology, and the application of -ray spectrometry to radiation measurement. This capability represents a world-class resource in radiation measurement technique and system design. It has produced many significant advances in radiation detectors and electronics as well as a vast quantity of scientific data related to radiation measurement technology.

Beginning with the startup of the world’s first high-flux beam reactor, Materials Test Reactor (MTR), INL has pioneered the development of -ray spectrometry for use in basic nuclear research and a variety of disciplines using radioisotopes and other radiation sources. In the early 1950’s, a program was instituted to make the technique a precise laboratory tool. Standards were established for detectors and nuclear electronics to promote the production of commercial laboratory spectrometers. It was also necessary to produce a comprehensive collection of standard detector response functions for individual radio nuclides to permit the use of gamma-ray spectrometers for identification of radioisotopes present in radiation sources. This led to the publication of standard measurement methodology and a set of Gamma-Ray Spectrum Catalogues. These publications, which established standards for detector systems, experimental methods and reference spectra for both NaI (Tl) scintillation detectors and Ge(Li) – Si( Li) semiconductor devices, became standard reference works, distributed worldwide. Over 40,000 copies have been distributed by the Office of Science and Technical Information (OSTI). INL has converted this large volume of data to a format which is consistent with current information technology and meets the needs of the scientific community.