The sensitivity of innovative techniques for measuring low levels of radon in the environment using passive detectors.

Autor: Pressyanov D; Faculty of Physics, Sofia University 'St. Kliment Ohridski', 5 James Bourchier Blvd., Sofia 1164, Bulgaria. Electronic address: pressyan@phys.uni-sofia.bg., Dimitrov D; University of Mining and Geology 'St. Ivan Rilski', Sofia, Bulgaria.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of environmental radioactivity [J Environ Radioact] 2024 Jul; Vol. 277, pp. 107461. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 27.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2024.107461
Abstrakt: In recent years, there has been a significant surge in interest in measuring low radon levels in the environment. These measurements are valuable, particularly for identifying radon priority areas as required by the European Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM and for research related to climate change. Due to the limited sensitivity of existing radon detectors/monitors in addressing these challenges, substantial efforts have been devoted to developing new designs. This report compares the sensitivity of several innovative designs with that of existing passive radon monitors. These novel designs incorporate alpha track detectors, including large area low background detectors, with activated carbon fabric used as an efficient radon adsorber/radiator. Recent innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of temperature and humidity on detectors using adsorbers are also discussed. The background signal of detectors intended for use in these novel designs is examined, and their sensitivity is evaluated. The findings demonstrate that these novel designs have the potential to significantly enhance the sensitivity of long-term radon measurements, surpassing the detectors currently in widespread use by more than an order of magnitude.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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