Research summary of the EMPIR MetroRADON project.

In this paper, a comprehensive overview on the achievements and generated research results beyond the state-of-the-art is given based on the working structure of the joint metrology research project MetroRADON. The results of the project have been targeted at the implementation of the European Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM on radiation protection (EU BSS) and benefit European and international standards on radon monitoring, radon measurement and calibration, geographical radon mapping, and guidelines on radiological protection, construction products, radiation instrumentation and nuclear data.

Standards and experience in radon measurement and regulation of radon mitigation in Austria.

Over the past 15 years scientific research and application-oriented research were carried out in Austria to resolve the radon problem. In this paper, the strategy and progression of radon research in Austria and experience gained by practical implementation of the main findings are shown and discussed comprehensively. The overview includes the results of the national radon survey, radon mitigation and precaution studies, indoor-air studies at kindergartens and schools, soil-gas radon research, and the establishment of national radon precaution and mitigation standards.

An intercomparison of Monte Carlo codes used in gamma-ray spectrometry.

In an intercomparison exercise, the Monte Carlo codes most commonly used in gamma-ray spectrometry today were compared with each other in order to gauge the differences between them in terms of typical applications. No reference was made to experimental data; instead, the aim was to confront the codes with each other, as they were applied to the calculation of full-energy-peak and total efficiencies. Surprising differences between the results of different codes were revealed.

A new Certified Reference Material for radionuclides in Irish sea sediment (IAEA-385).

A new Certified Reference Material (CRM) for radionuclides in sediment (IAEA-385) is described and the results of the certification process are presented. Eleven radionuclides ((40)K, (137)Cs, (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (230)Th, (232)Th, (234)U, (238)U, (238)Pu, (239+240)Pu and (241)Am) have been certified and information mass activities with 95% confidence intervals are given for seven other radionuclides ((90)Sr, (210)Pb((210)Po), (235)U, (239)Pu, (240)Pu and (241)Pu). Results for less frequently reported radionuclides ((60)Co, (99)Tc, (134)Cs, (155)Eu, (224)Ra and (239)Np) and information on some activity and mass ratios are also reported. The CRM can be used for quality assurance/quality control of the analysis of radionuclides in sediment samples, for the development and validation of analytical methods and for training purposes.

Radon risk in Alpine regions in Austria: risk assessment as a settlement planning strategy.

Soil gas radon measurements complement indispensable and well-established radon indoor measurements in Austria. Radon in soil gas is a result of geochemical conditions as well as of geology, mineralogy, geophysics and meteorology. Therefore, geological factors can help to predict potential indoor radon concentrations via soil gas. Soil gas radon measurements in well-defined geological units give an estimate of local and regional radon hazards and build the basis for radon risk maps, which could be used for land-use planning and urban development. The creation of maps makes an important contribution to health care. For this purpose, several research projects were carried out in Austria. On the one hand, a study was already conducted in Lower Austria to determine the influence of meteorological and soil physical parameters on radon concentrations in soil gas and to evaluate soil gas radon concentrations with a radon emanation and migration model. On the other hand, radon measurements on different geomorphologic formations in the Austrian Alps, which are potential settlement areas, are of special interest.

Production and characterization of a traceable NORM material and its use in proficiency testing of gamma-ray spectrometry laboratories.

This paper outlines the process of characterizing a new NORM material for proficiency testing made of quartz sand with significantly elevated levels of 226Ra obtained from the backflush of a drinking water treatment facility. Samples of the fully characterized NORM material were sent to European laboratories concerned with radioactivity measurements and environmental monitoring by gamma-ray spectrometry for proficiency testing. The paper discusses the results, specific requirements, problems and solutions that were found during the characterization process and the proficiency test.

Radon in drinking water: Comparison and evaluation of two ionisation chamber activity measurement methods.

In this study the radon activity concentration of water samples from the so called "Thermenlinie" are measured using two different techniques: currents measured with an ionisation chamber setup developed by H. Friedmann are compared with results obtained using a commercially available AlphaGUARD. A fit to compensate for measurements made in non-equilibrium state is applied and the detection limit is estimated.

INTRODUCTION AND TESTING OF A SIMPLIFIED METHOD FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE RADON EMANATION.

The radioactive noble gas radon is identified as the highest risk factor for lung cancer after smoking. The exhalation of radon from building materials can contribute to the radon indoor activity concentration. Therefore, the emanation of radon might be a crucial factor. It is defined as the release of radon from the solid soil matter into the pore space of the material. This article describes a new on-site measurement method for the emanation of radon from building materials at industrial sites. Therefore, a closed vessel with sample material and a passive radon detector inside is used to measure the integrated build-up-curve of the activity concentration. Additionally, a brief overview on existing radon emanation measurement methods is given.

A COMPARISON OF RADON INDOOR MEASUREMENTS WITH INTERPOLATED RADON SOIL GAS VALUES USING THE INVERSE WEIGHTING METHOD ON MEASURED RESULTS.

The European Basic Safety Standards demand the prediction of areas where a significant number of households exceed the reference level for the radon activity concentration. Therefore, radon maps are established which are based on indoor and soil gas measurements. In this study results of soil gas measurements are interpolated to get a value for the radon activity concentration in the soil gas at the coordinates of an indoor measurement and enable a direct comparison of both results. For the interpolation the inverse weighting value is applied. This way a prediction of the indoor radon activity concentration at the location of indoor measurements is attempted for verification. Quotients between the radon activity concentration in soil gas and indoors are analyzed. Building characteristics are also taken into account to evaluate parameters which lead to the reference level being exceeded. The results assist in the interpretation of soil gas measurements regarding the prediction of indoor radon activity concentrations.

The uncertainty in the radon hazard classification of areas as a function of the number of measurements.

The administration in many countries demands a classification of areas concerning their radon risk taking into account the requirements of the EU Basic Safety Standards. The wide variation of indoor radon concentrations in an area which is caused by different house construction, different living style and different geological situations introduces large uncertainties for any classification scheme. Therefore, it is of importance to estimate the size of the experimental coefficient of variation (relative standard deviation) of the parameter which is used to classify an area. Besides the time period of measurement it is the number of measurements which strongly influences this uncertainty and it is important to find a compromise between the economic possibilities and the needed confidence level. Some countries do not use pure measurement results for the classification of areas but use derived quantities, usually called radon potential, which should reduce the influence of house construction, living style etc. and should rather represent the geological situation of an area. Here, radon indoor measurements in nearly all homes in three municipalities and its conversion into a radon potential were used to determine the uncertainty of the mean radon potential of an area as a function of the number of investigated homes. It could be shown that the coefficient of variation scales like 1/√n with n the number of measured dwellings. The question how to deal with uncertainties when using a classification scheme for the radon risk is discussed and a general procedure is proposed.

Indoor radon, geogenic radon surrogates and geology - Investigations on their correlation.

The indoor radon concentration was measured in most houses in a couple of municipalities in Austria. At the same time the activity concentration of radium in soil, the soil gas radon concentration, the permeability of the ground and the ambient dose equivalent rate were also measured and the geological situations (geological units) were recorded too. From the indoor radon concentration and different house and living parameters a radon potential (Austrian radon potential) was derived which should represent the radon concentration in a standard room. Another radon potential (Neznal radon potential) was calculated from the soil gas radon concentration and the permeability. The aim of the investigation was to correlate all the different variables and to test if the use of surrogate data (e.g. geological information, ambient dose equivalent rate, etc.) can be used to judge the radon risk for an area without performing numerous indoor measurements.

Radon activity concentration--a Euromet and BIPM supplementary comparison.

For the first time, a comparison of radon activity concentration in air has been performed within the scope of Euromet. In the project 657, 'Comparison of calibration facilities for the radon activity concentration,' 12 participants from 9 countries compared different radon reference atmospheres at 1, 3 and 10 k Bq m-3 via a transfer standard. The comparison was listed as BIPM supplementary comparison EUROMET.RI(II)-S1. The results of most participants are correlated due to common traceability to one single radon gas standard producer. This makes a careful correlation analysis necessary to achieve an appropriate comparison reference value. The results of the comparison as well as the complex analysis of the correlated set of data is presented and discussed.

A quick technique to improve the geometry characterisation of aged HPGe detectors for MC code efficiency calculation.

During the EMRP JRP MetroMETAL project a detector image of an aged HPGe gamma-ray detector was created for MC efficiency calculation. Using the nominal construction parameters of the detector, the simulation showed unacceptably high deviations from the assured activity values. This paper describes an optimisation of a virtual detector to obtain better results using limited resources and offers comparisons of efficiency values of point and voluminous sources calculated by LABSOCS® and PENELOPE 2011.

Results and conclusions of the Austrian radon mitigation project 'SARAH'.

The Austrian radon mitigation joint research project SARAH (supported by the Austrian Ministry of Economy and the Government of Upper Austria), a 2-year follow-up study of the Austrian National Radon Project (ONRAP), was started in 1996. The objectives of the research project were to find simple, cost-effective experimental methods for the characterisation of the radon situation in dwellings and to evaluate technically and economically the implementation of state of the art remedial actions for Austrian house types. After an intercomparison exercise of the assigned radon measuring instruments and detectors five houses were closely examined in regions with elevated radon levels in the federal state of Upper Austria. In this research work for the first time an extended Blower-Door method (which is conventionally used for determining the tightness of buildings) was successfully applied to radon diagnosis of buildings. In this paper the methods used for the radon diagnosis, the applied mitigation measures and the related technical and economical aspects are discussed. In conclusion of the results of this project a common strategy for solving the radon problem in Austria in the future is presented briefly.

Development of standard methods for activity measurement of natural radionuclides in waterworks as basis for dose and risk assessment--first results of an Austrian study.

A comprehensive study with the aim to evaluate the risks due to radiation exposure for workers in water supply is conducted in 21 Austrian waterworks. The development of standard methods for the assessment of occupational exposure of water work staff is a part of this study. Preliminary results of this study show a wide range of Rn-222 activity concentration in waterworks with values from (28 ± 10)Bq/m(3) to (38,000 ± 4,000)Bq/m(3). Also seasonal variations of the Rn-222 activity concentration could be observed.

Activity measurement and effective dose modelling of natural radionuclides in building material.

In this paper the assessment of natural radionuclides' activity concentration in building materials, calibration requirements and related indoor exposure dose models is presented. Particular attention is turned to specific improvements in low-level gamma-ray spectrometry to determine the activity concentration of necessary natural radionuclides in building materials with adequate measurement uncertainties. Different approaches for the modelling of the effective dose indoor due to external radiation resulted from natural radionuclides in building material and results of actual building material assessments are shown.

Radioactive waste management: review on clearance levels and acceptance criteria legislation, requirements and standards.

In 2011 the joint research project Metrology for Radioactive Waste Management (MetroRWM)(1) of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) started with a total duration of three years. Within this project, new metrological resources for the assessment of radioactive waste, including their calibration with new reference materials traceable to national standards will be developed. This paper gives a review on national, European and international strategies as basis for science-based metrological requirements in clearance and acceptance of radioactive waste.

A new method for determining the efficiency of large-area beta sources constructed from anodized aluminum foils.

A new method has been developed for determining the efficiency of large-area beta sources in anodized aluminum foils using transmission measurements. The method was applied to the efficiency measurement of a (90)Sr-(90)Y large-area reference source. Measurement results show that the method can provide efficiency values for (90)Sr-(90)Y reference sources with standard uncertainties smaller than 2.9%, which are far below the limit of 10% required by ISO 8769.

Radon and other natural radionuclides in drinking water in Austria: measurement and assessment.

According to the European Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC a pilot project for the assessment of the radiological situation of drinking water was realized in Austria. About 350 drinking water samples were taken in Upper Austria and analyzed for several natural radionuclides by different measuring techniques. Techniques are tested and compared and an overview of the results is given. Additionally, parameters for drinking water assessment have been worked out to standardize monitoring programs and simplify experts' activities.

Long-term monitoring of the Danube river--sampling techniques, radionuclide metrology and radioecological assessment.

Sampling techniques and radiometric methods, developed and applied in a comprehensive radioecological study of the Danube River are presented. Results and radiometric data of sediment samples, collected by sediment traps in Austria and additionally by grab sampling in the Danube during research cruises between Germany and the delta (Black sea) are shown and discussed. Goal of the investigation is the protection of public and environment, especially the sustainable use and conservation of human freshwater resources against harmful radioactive exposure.