ABSTRACT
This work describes a technique for the measurement of 222Rn by absorption in polycarbonate (PC) powder and liquid scintillation counting (LSC). The work is an improvement of the recently proposed method for 222Rn measurements by LSC of exposed PC grains. It is demonstrated that the use of PC powder as a 222Rn sampler improves 13.6 times the sampling efficiency and leads to 6.5 times smaller minimmal detectable activity concentrations (MDAC) compared with the PC grains used so far. For a 40-h exposure of 7.4-g PC powder to 222Rn in air, the MDAC with a RackBeta 1219 LS counter is 62 Bq m(-3) (assuming a 8-h sample counting time and 24-h background time). For the same conditions the estimated 222Rn MDAC with a Quantulus 1220 LS counter is 20 Bq m(-3). The proposed technique is suitable for radon in air and radon in soil-gas measurements.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants, Radioactive/analysis , Polycarboxylate Cement/chemistry , Powders/chemistry , Radiation Monitoring/instrumentation , Radon/analysis , Scintillation Counting/methods , Soil Pollutants, Radioactive/analysis , Humans , Radiation Monitoring/methods , Scintillation Counting/instrumentationABSTRACT
This work explores the application of the liquid scintillation counting of polycarbonates for measurement of the activity concentration of radioactive noble gases. Results from experimental studies of the method are presented. Potential applications in the monitoring of radioactive noble gases are discussed.