Comparison study and thoron interference test of different radon monitors.

A comparison study and thoron interference test for different continuous radon monitors were carried out. The comparison study includes three passive diffusion monitors [one pulse ionisation chamber based-Alpha Guard and two silicon semi-conductor based-Radon Scout Plus (RSP)] and one silicon semi-conductor-based active radon thoron discriminating monitor--RAD 7. Radon emanation standard, supplied by National Institute of Science and Technology, has been utilised for the comparison study to qualify the calibration of the continuous radon monitors. All the instruments showed good agreement with the estimated radon concentration using (226)Ra/(222)Rn emanation standard. It was found that the active radon monitoring system is having a higher initial response towards the transient radon concentration than the passive radon monitors studied. The instruments measuring radon concentration without energy discrimination are likely to have some sensitivity towards the thoron concentration. Thus, thoron interference study was carried out in the above monitors. Nine percent interference in measured radon concentration in the Alpha Guard monitor and 4 % interference in the semi-conductor-based RSP monitors was observed. Study indicates that the interference of thoron in radon monitors depends on the area of diffusion of gas, volume of detection and sensitivity factor.

Application of thoron interference as a tool for simultaneous measurement of radon and thoron with a pulse ionisation chamber.

Pulse ionisation chamber (PIC)-based monitors measuring radioactive gas radon ((222)Rn) without energy discrimination will have interference due to thoron ((220)Rn) present in the atmosphere. A technique has been developed to use this property of interference for simultaneous measurement of radon and thoron gas. These monitors work on the principle of counting of gross alphas emitted from radon and its progeny. A theoretical model has been developed for the variation of thoron sensitivity with respect to the flow rate of gas through the monitor. The thoron sensitivity of the monitor is found to vary with the flow rate of gas through the monitor. Using this sensitivity, the sampling procedure has been developed and verified for simultaneous measurement of radon and thoron. The PIC-measured radon and thoron concentration using this procedure agrees well with those measured by using standard radon and thoron discriminating monitor.

Estimation of thoron concentration using scintillation cell.

Two counting techniques are proposed in this paper to estimate thoron ((220)Rn) concentration using a Lucas scintillation cell. The alpha activity build-up inside the cell is calculated theoretically by using Bateman equations. The first method is having a minimum detection limit of 325 Bq m(-3) and can be used for thoron measurement in thorium-processing plants. In the second method, thoron concentration is calculated using the alpha counts from thoron progenies and is a reference to the first method. The results obtained by these techniques compare well with the double filter method.

Long-term leaching of uranium from different waste matrices.

A semi-dynamic leaching test was carried out for metallurgical wastes and ore samples from the uranium and copper mining industry over a 142 day period using distilled water and 0.1N NaNO(3) as solvents. Laser fluorimetry was used as the analytical technique to determine the total uranium content in the leachates. The cumulative leach fraction (CLF) of uranium release from the samples was calculated to be 0.22, 0.22, 0.07 and 0.39% for rock, uranium tailings, copper kinker ash samples and copper tailings respectively using distilled water as solvent and 0.31, 0.27, 0.05 and 0.59% for the same matrices using 0.1N NaNO(3). The release of mobile uranium fraction was very slow, being faster in the initial stage and then attained a near steady state condition. The diffusion coefficient and bulk release of uranium from the samples have been calculated. The processes governing the release of uranium from these matrices have been identified to be surface wash-off and diffusion. Hence the use of weak solvents (leach out the mobile/exchangeable fraction of uranium) under semi-dynamic conditions aids the determination of leaching parameters and identification of the leaching mechanism for mobile uranium fraction from different matrices by slow leaching processes.

Distribution of uranium in drinking water and associated age-dependent radiation dose in India.

Exposure due to natural radiation is of particular importance because it accounts for the largest contribution (nearly 85 %) to the total collective dose of the world population. An attempt has been made to present the feasibility of uranium occurrence in drinking water samples from different states of India, by laser-induced fluorimetry. The associated age-dependent radiation dose was estimated by taking the prescribed water intake values of different age groups. The concentration of uranium obtained, i.e. 0.1 +/- 0.01 to 19.6 +/- 1.8 microg l(-1), is well below the drinking water guideline value of 30 microg l(-1). The annual ingestion dose due to uranium in drinking water for various age groups is found to vary from 0.14 to 48 microSv y(-1).