Intercomparison of active, passive and continuous instruments for radon and radon progeny
- Department of Energy, New York, NY (United States)
The DOE/OHER radon, thoron and progeny exposure and test facility was set up in 1993 to provide a well controlled, airtight and uniform environment. The new calibration chamber is the primary test facility at the Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML), in which a large number of an diverse types of monitoring instruments can be accomodated for calibration, evaluation and intercomparison purposes. The test chamber is environmentally controlled for temperature and humidity. Monodispersed or polydispersed aerosols are generated to study radon and thoron progeny attachment and behavior and to investigate instrument performance under different conditions of exposure. Also, particle size measurements are performed to develop techniques for the assessment of the health risk from the inhalation of radon and thoron progeny. The results from the May 1995 intercomparison for active, passive and continuous instruments for radon and radon progeny are presented. Instruments that measure radon were represented by 13 participants with open face and diffusion barrier activated carbon collectors, 10 with nuclear alpha track detectors, 9 with short-term and long-term electret/ionization chambers and 13 with active and passive commercial electronic continuous monitors. For radon progeny, there were 4 participants that came in person to take part in the grab sampling methodology for measuring individual radon progeny and the potential alpha energy (PAEC). The results indicate that all the tested instruments that measure radon are in good standing. All instruments and methods used for grab sampling for radon progeny did very well. However, most of the continuous and integrating electronic instruments used for PAEC (WL), appear to underestimate the potential risk from radon progeny when the concentration of particles onto which the radon progeny are attached is <5,000 cc{sup -1}.
- OSTI ID:
- 269803
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950999-; TRN: 96:004072-0010
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International radon symposium: the radon industry - the next 10 years, Nashville, TN (United States), 27-29 Sep 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of 1995 International radon symposium. AARST today: Professionals ready for tomorrow; PB: 408 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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