Radon daughter carousel: an automated instrument for measuring indoor concentrations of /sup 218/Po, /sup 214/Pb, and /sup 214/Bi

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983 · Rev. Sci. Instrum.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1137555· OSTI ID:5746491

Nazaroff, W W

A microprocessor-controlled instrument for measuring the concentrations of radon progeny in indoor air is described. The measurement technique is based on alpha spectroscopy and uses two counting intervals following a sampling period during which radon progeny are collected on a filter. The counting intervals are selected to provide optimal precision for measuring /sup 222/Rn progeny for fixed total measurement times ranging from 30 to 60 min: concentrations as low as 0.5 pCi/1 can be measured with less than 20% uncertainty in 45 min. The instrument can also be used to estimate the potential alpha energy concentration of /sup 220/Rn decay products. The device operates under the control of a computer or a data terminal and functions for week-long periods between filter changes. The user can specify the sampling- and counting-interval timing over a wide range and select from among several operating modes. A number of performance tests are also described indicating that for typical indoor concentrations the measurement uncertainty is dominated by counting statistics.

• Research Organization: Building Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality Program, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 5746491
• Journal Information: Rev. Sci. Instrum.; (United States), Journal Name: Rev. Sci. Instrum.; (United States) Vol. 54:9; ISSN RSINA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

440103* -- Radiation Instrumentation-- Nuclear Spectroscopic Instrumentation
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ACCURACY
AIR POLLUTION
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ALPHA DETECTION
ALPHA SPECTROSCOPY
AUTOMATION
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BISMUTH 214
BISMUTH ISOTOPES
CHARGED PARTICLE DETECTION
COMPUTERS
CONTROL
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DETECTION
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FILTERS
FLUIDS
GASES
HEAVY NUCLEI
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
ISOTOPES
LEAD 214
LEAD ISOTOPES
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
MICROPROCESSORS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MONITORING
NONMETALS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OPTIMIZATION
POLLUTION
POLONIUM 218
POLONIUM ISOTOPES
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADON
RADON 220
RADON 222
RADON ISOTOPES
RARE GASES
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
SPECTROSCOPY