Evidence for and Implications of Self-Background of Radon Dosimeters with Glass-Fiber Filters

Autor: van der Emiel Graaf, L.W. Put, P. Stoop, J. Lembrechts
Přispěvatelé: KVI - Center for Advanced Radiation Technology
Rok vydání: 2000
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scopus-Elsevier
Health Physics, 78(1), 94-99
ISSN: 0017-9078
DOI: 10.1097/00004032-200001000-00016
Popis: The first national radon survey in the Netherlands was conducted in 1984 with passive radon dosimeters that contain glass-fiber diffusion filters. During the last few years, measurements of outdoor-radon concentrations and information in the literature suggested that these dosimeters may give falsely elevated readings. A systematic contribution would be present due to alpha particles from natural radionuclides in the glass-fiber filter producing tracks on the track-etch foil. In the framework of the quality assurance of their laboratories, the origin of this offset was systematically assessed by means of measurements of alpha and gamma radiation from the glass-fiber filters and by intercomparisons between different types of detectors at low radon concentrations. It was found that alpha particles from the decay of {sup 214}Po in the glass-fiber filter are the main cause of the extra tracks (only 12% originates from decay of {sup 212}Po), leading, for this type of filter, to an offset in concentration of approximately 8 Bq m{sup {minus}3}. The implications of this offset are discussed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE