Measurement of radon and radon daughters in air: Recommendations of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements

Technical Report · Tue Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6419921

All of the radon isotopes are noble gases and are inert with no large sinks in the environment. Radon is relatively soluble in water and, for this reason, water transport has been a significant mechanism for bringing radon into some underground mines and into some homes where ground water (well water) is used instead of surface water. Radon does not readily form chemical compounds. However, several compounds have been produced and used for experimental purposes. The short-lived daughter products of radon, /sup 218/Po, /sup 214/Pb, /sup 214/Bi, and /sup 214/Po, are of most significance for human exposure since it is these products which are inhaled and deliver the bronchial radiation dose that is implicated in bronchogenic carcinoma. The two polonium isotopes, /sup 218/Po and /sup 214/Po, are the alpha emitters, and these are the daughters of dosimetric interest. The overall effective half-life for the sequence of the four daughters is about 30 minutes. The majority of /sup 218/Po is formed as positively charged ions which rapidly change charge and size. The diffusion coefficient of the daughter is of fundamental importance since it controls the movement of the species in the environment. The measurements of radon and thoron in air are separated into three categories, instantaneous, continuous or time-averaged methods. Ionization chambers and scintillation cells are utilized primarily for instantaneous or grab samples, but may be modified to accommodate continuous measurements. Passive methods to detect radon are popular since large-scale environmental surveys require that a detector be located in a suitable location for extended periods of time in order to assess annual exposure.

• Research Organization: National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6419921
• Report Number(s): NCRP-97
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
MEASURING METHODS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIUM
RADON
THORIUM 232
ACTINIUM
AIR
BISMUTH 214
HALF-LIFE
LEAD 214
POLONIUM 214
POLONIUM 218
RADIATION TRANSPORT
RADIOISOTOPES
RADON 219
RADON 220
RADON 222
RADON ISOTOPES
URANIUM 235
URANIUM 238
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ACTINIDES
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BISMUTH ISOTOPES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FLUIDS
GASES
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LEAD ISOTOPES
METALS
MICROSEC LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NONMETALS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
POLONIUM ISOTOPES
RARE GASES
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
THORIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
400702* - Radiochemistry & Nuclear Chemistry- Properties of Radioactive Materials
440101 - Radiation Instrumentation- General Detectors or Monitors & Radiometric Instruments
500300 - Environment
Atmospheric- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)