Evaluation of the beta energy spectrum from a distributed uranium mill tailings source.

The beta energy spectra from uranium mill tailings, 90Sr with different absorber thicknesses, and a uranium metal slab were measured and compared to select an appropriate beta source for calibrating a personal dosimeter to measure shallow dose equivalent when exposed to uranium mill tailings. The measured beta energy spectrum from the 90Sr source, with a 111 mg cm-2 cover thickness, was selected as a possible calibration source for a personnel dosimeter. The dose equivalent rate to the skin at 1 cm from a distributed tailings source of infinite thickness, with a 226Ra activity of 56 Bq g-1 (1.5 x 10(3) pCi g-1), was measured to be 0.024 mSv h-1 (2.4 mrem h-1).

A multiyear quality control study of alpha-track radon monitors.

Quality control exposures of commercial alpha-track radon monitors have been conducted approximately weekly at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Projects Office since early 1987 in support of DOE remedial action programs. The results of these exposures provide a historical record of the comparative performances of these radon monitors.

Half-lives of 214Pb and 214Bi.

New measurements on chemically separated samples of 214Bi have yielded a mean half-life value of 19.71 +/- 0.02 min, where the error quoted is twice the standard deviation of the mean based on 23 decay runs. This result provides strong support for the historic 19.72 +/- 0.04 min half-life value and essentially excludes the 19.9-min value, both reported in previous studies. New measurements of the decay rate of 222Rn progeny activity initially in radioactive equilibrium have yielded a value of 26.89 +/- 0.03 min for the half-life of 214Pb, where the error quoted is twice the standard deviation of the mean based on 12 decay runs. This value is 0.1 min longer than the currently accepted 214Pb half-value of 26.8 min.

Year-to-year variations in annual average indoor 222Rn concentrations.

Annual average indoor 222Rn concentrations in 40 residences in and around Grand Junction, CO, have been measured repeatedly since 1984 using commercial alpha-track monitors (ATM) deployed for successive 12-mo time periods. Data obtained provide a quantitative measure of the year-to-year variations in the annual average Rn concentrations in these structures over this 6-y period. A mean coefficient of variation of 25% was observed for the year-to-year variability of the measurements at 25 sampling stations for which complete data were available. Individual coefficients of variation at the various stations ranged from a low of 7.7% to a high of 51%. The observed mean coefficient of variation includes contributions due to the variability in detector response as well as the true year-to-year variation in the annual average Rn concentrations. Factoring out the contributions from the measured variability in the response of the detectors used, the actual year-to-year variability of the annual average Rn concentrations was approximately 22%.

Comparative performance of short-term diffusion barrier charcoal canisters and long-term alpha-track monitors for indoor 222Rn measurements.

The accuracy and precision of indoor 222Rn measurements obtained with the use of diffusion barrier charcoal canisters (DBCC) under actual field conditions were determined by comparing the integrated average of 26 successive 7-d exposures of DBCC in each of 16 occupied residences over a 6-mo period with simultaneous measurements using four types of commercially available alpha-track monitors (ATM) and one type of scintillation chamber continuous 222Rn monitor. The results suggest that properly calibrated DBCCs provide very good estimates of the integrated 222Rn concentrations in residential structures over the standard 1-wk exposure period despite the occurrence of large diurnal variations in the actual 222Rn concentrations. The results also suggest that a relatively small number of 1-wk DBCC measurements at selected times throughout the calendar year would provide estimates of the annual average indoor 222Rn concentrations that compare favorably with single long-term ATM measurements.

Time-averaged exposures to 220Rn and 222Rn progeny in Colorado homes.

Week-long time-averaged exposures to naturally occurring 220Rn and 222Rn progeny have been measured at several locations in Colorado by monitoring the alpha activity collected continuously on a fixed-membrane filter. The alpha-energy spectrum associated with the activity collected on the filter was recorded every 15 min using a microcomputer-controlled alpha spectrometer. The alpha counts observed in three energy regions permitted complete separation of the contributions from each decay chain, and calculation of the separate time-averaged potential alpha-energy concentrations in air from 220Rn progeny, PAEC(Tn), and from 222Rn progeny, PAEC(Rn). The time-averaged PAEC(Tn) ranged from 0.3 to 6.9 mWL at 12 indoor locations, and the time-averaged PAEC(Rn) ranged from 1.0 to 59.0 mWL. The ratios of the indoor PAEC(Tn) to indoor PAEC(Rn) ranged from 0.09 to 0.58, with an overall average ratio of 0.32 and a standard deviation of 0.15. The 10 L min-1 flow rate through the filter was selected to approximate the air intake rate of a resting human; the time-averaged PAEC thus represents the progeny concentrations that would have been inhaled by a person breathing the same atmosphere.

The half-life of 218Po.

Direct observation of the 218Po alpha-peak decay with a microcomputer-controlled alpha-spectrometer yielded a mean half-life value of 3.040 +/- 0.008 min, where the error quoted represents twice the standard deviation of the means from 38 separate decay measurements. The 1912 and 1924 218Po half-life measurements, which provided the 3.05-min value listed in nuclear tables for the past 60 y, are critically reviewed. Two more recent experiments, which yielded longer values of 3.11 min (Van Hise et al. 1982) and 3.093 min (Potapov and Soloshenkov 1986), are also discussed.

Calculations for beta dosimetry using Monte Carlo code (OREC) for electron transport in water.

A Monte Carlo computer code (OREC) for calculating the detailed transport and energy deposition for primary electrons and all of their secondaries in liquid water has been investigated for use in beta-ray dosimetry. Some modifications have been made in the original code for its application to tissue and tissue-equivalent materials. The code gives reasonably good agreement with beta spectral data and depth-dose curves measured in tissue-equivalent plastics for several calibrated beta sources. The calculations permit a direct evaluation of the skin dose equivalent, i.e., the dose equivalent, Hs (0.07), at a depth of 0.070 mm in tissue. Calculations are presented for monoenergetic electrons, showing the distributions in the maximum depth of penetration and in the total pathlength traveled. Direct comparisons are made between depth-dose curves calculated for 99Tc and 147Pm plaque sources and measurements made with extrapolation chambers. The energy spectrum of beta particles emerging from a thick 99Tc plaque source also is calculated, and the angular distribution is found to be almost independent of the energy. The pulse-height spectrum in a tissue-equivalent plastic scintillator calculated for this source shows good agreement with the measured spectrum. The calculations also provide the Hs(0.07) dose equivalent for the 99Tc source, which is found to be consistent with that inferred independently from the spectral measurements. A calculated curve for converting spectrometer measurements to Hs(0.07) dose equivalent is in good agreement with a semi-empirical curve that was developed independently. It appears that calculations made with the electron transport code for water can provide useful information for beta dosimetry.