An application of the maximum entropy method for assessments of residual radioactivity at contaminated sites

An important requirement in surveying for residual radioactivity is the detection of localized areas of elevated contamination, sometimes referred to as hot spots. In the present work we have developed a computer code that searches for distributions of surface activity (possibly many) that are consistent with a series of in situ measurements on a grid indicating the possible presence of hot spots. The algorithm makes use of a maximum entropy deconvolution of the data, followed by further analysis. The algorithm is quite general and could be modified for use in other types of measurements. Properties of the algorithm are demonstrated using data from actual field measurements.