Study of the atmospheric chemistry of radon progeny in laboratory and real indoor atmospheres. Progress report, May 1, 1993--January 31, 1994
Progress is reported on the chemical and physical behavior of the {sup 218}Po atom immediately following its formation by the alpha decay of radon. Two areas of radon progeny behavior are being pursued; laboratory studies under controlled conditions to better understand the fundamental physical and chemical processes that affect the progeny`s atmospheric behavior and studies in actual indoor environments to develop a better assessment of the exposure of the occupants of that space to the size and concentration of the indoor radioactive aerosol. The specific tasks addressed were to determine the formation rates of {center_dot}OH radicals formed by the radiolysis of air following radon decay, to examine the formation of particles by the radiolytic oxidation of substances like SO{sub 2}, ethylene, and H{sub 2}S to lower vapor pressure compounds and determine the role of gas phase additives such as H{sub 2}O and NH{sub 3} in determining the particle size, to measure the rate of ion-induced nucleation using a thermal diffusion cloud chamber, and to measure the neutralization rate of {sup 218}PoO{sub x}{sup +} in O{sub 2} at low radon concentrations. Initial measurements were conducted of the activity size distributions in actual homes with occupants present so that the variability of the indoor activity size distributions can be assessed with respect to indoor aerosol sources and general lifestyle variations of the occupants. A prospective study of the utility of measurement of deposited {sup 210}Pb embedded in glass surfaces as a measure of the long-term, integrated exposure of the population to radon are described. Methodology was developed to determine the hygroscopicity of the indoor aerosol so that the changes in deposition efficiency of the radioactive indoor aerosol with hygroscopic growth in the respiratory tract can be assessed.
- Research Organization:
- Clarkson Univ., Potsdam, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-90ER61029
- OSTI ID:
- 10143679
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/61029-16; ON: DE94010010; BR: KP0101000
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jan 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Study of the atmospheric chemistry of radon progeny in laboratory and real indoor atmospheres
Study of the atmospheric chemistry of radon progeny in laboratory and real indoor atmospheres. Progress report, July 1, 1992--March 31, 1993
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