Method, apparatus and system for low-energy beta particle detection

A method for detecting a selected radioactive activity in an environment, the method comprising:

• detecting a first set of low-energy beta particle radiation pulses within a first scintillator;
• detecting a second set of higher-energy radiation pulses within a second scintillator;
• and
• subtracting a portion of the first set of low-energy beta particle radiation pulses related to an estimated contribution of pulses generated in the first scintillator by higher-energy beta particle radiation detected by the second scintillator.

A low-energy beta particle detection system, comprising:

• a detector assembly, comprising:
• a first detector and an adjacent, second detector, each structured to generate a light pulse responsive to interaction with beta particles and the first detector structured to experience full energy deposition of low-energy beta particles from a specific beta source and permit higher-energy beta particles from other beta sources to pass therethrough and interact with the second detector;
• and
• a light-to-electrical converter operably coupled to the second scintillator detector for converting light pulses generated by the first detector and the second detector into electrical signals;
• data acquisition hardware configured to determine whether a given light pulse is generated in the first detector or in the second detector based on a mutually different characteristic exhibited by the first detector and the second detector;
• and
• at least one software module configured to separate out counts from the low-energy beta particles from counts attributable to the higher-energy beta particles in the first detector and determine a presence of the specific beta source from among a plurality of beta sources.