Year-long comparison of two techniques to monitor outdoor radon concentrations at Shiprock, New Mexico
The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Remedial Action and Waste Technology established the Technical Measurements Center (TMC) at the DOE Grand Junction Projects Office (GJPO) in Grand Junction, Colorado, to standardize, calibrate, and compare measurements made in support of DOE remedial action programs. Outdoor radon concentration measurements were made by the TMC in Shiprock, New Mexico, to compare two different methods of measuring radon in an attempt to determine the feasibility of using passive alpha-track detectors to assess the adequacy of remedial action undertaken at the Shiprock uranium mill tailings pile. The results of the first three quarters of monitoring have been detailed in previous reports. An analysis of the data from the fourth quarter of monitoring at Shiprock reveals a somewhat poorer correlation between the two sets of measurements than was seen in the third quarter of this study, but a better correlation than was found for the first and second quarters. The results of a nearly year-long exposure of alpha-track detectors were in much better agreement with the annual-average results of the second measurement method than were any of the quarterly results. The results of a calibration exposure of several alpha-track detectors in an environmentally controlled radon chamber differed significantly from the detector manufacturer's calibrations. The most significant conclusion is that alpha-track detectors require a year-long exposure to provide a reliable estimate of the annual-average outdoor radon concentration. Annual averages calculated from quarterly exposures are more prone to errors occurring during the track-counting process. 7 refs., 5 figs., 5 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- UNC Geotech, Grand Junction, CO (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-86ID12584
- OSTI ID:
- 6880051
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ID/12584-26; UNC/GJ-43(TMC); ON: DE89001021; TRN: 88-035549
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
07 ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES
DIELECTRIC TRACK DETECTORS
CALIBRATION
RADON 222
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ALPHA PARTICLES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
MILL TAILINGS
REMEDIAL ACTION
TIME DEPENDENCE
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHARGED PARTICLES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NUCLEI
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADON ISOTOPES
SOLID WASTES
TAILINGS
WASTES
054000* - Nuclear Fuels- Health & Safety
655002 - Medical Physics- Radiation Source Calibration & Standardization