Radon Off-Gassing From Military Artifacts
| Autor: | David G. Kelly, Timothy Mumby |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Epidemiology
Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis chemistry.chemical_element Soil science Radon Standard deviation 030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Air pollutants Radiation Monitoring Military Facilities Humans Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging Construction Materials Structural integrity Secular equilibrium Ventilation Spectrometry Gamma Outgassing chemistry Air Pollutants Radioactive 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis Air Pollution Indoor Environmental science Artifacts Radium |
| Zdroj: | Health physics. 117(3) |
| ISSN: | 1538-5159 |
| Popis: | Military historical artifacts found in museum displays and storage locations were analyzed for their Ra and Rn progeny activities to determine the fraction of Rn lost to the environment. Gamma-ray spectroscopy using high-purity germanium detectors was used to determine Ra activity and infer Rn activity based on Pb and Bi. Analyses were conducted without affecting the structural integrity of the artifacts. Ra was measured directly after correction for solid angle and finite sample-detector distance. Although Rn can be similarly analyzed, the collection in charcoal of Rn off-gassed from the artifact after the establishment of secular equilibrium was preferable. Rn off-gassing rates vary greatly between the six devices studied, with a maximum off-gassing rate of 1,850 ± 50 Bq h. Large variations in off-gassing rate were also observed between an additional 30 nominally identical dials, with a mean and standard deviation of 7.7 ± 7.1 Bq h. The work is not predictive of airborne Rn activity within museums, where building size and ventilation are significant and unique to each location. However, the significant off-gassing rates and their large variation suggest that Rn activities may be elevated in enclosed locations, such as aircraft cockpits and storage facilities. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|