Generalized evaluation of environmental radioactivity measurements with UncertRadio. Part I: Methods without linear unfolding

It is shown how a generalized evaluation of a large variety of environmental radioactivity measurements, without and with using linear unfolding, can be performed with a single program, UncertRadio (UR). Using a function parser allows deriving numerical partial derivatives for ISO GUM compatible uncertainty propagation. The evaluation within UR is extended to include ISO 11929 decision thresholds and detection limits. Alternatively, propagation of distributions with MC simulation is included. Part I gives an overview considering evaluations without using linear unfolding. •Measurement model equations are structured according to three simple assumptions.•Numerical partial derivatives within GUM uncertainty propagation are used.•An ISO 11929 based uncertainty function allows estimating detection limits (DL).•UncertRadio software with Windows GUI performs all analytical calculations.•Propagation of distributions by Monte Carlo simulation included.