A tentative protocol for measurement of radon availability from the ground

Radiation Protection Dosimetry
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Abstract

A procedure is being tested in order to determine its suitability for assessing the intrinsic ability of the ground at a particular site to supply 222Rn to a basement structure to be built on the site. Soil gas is sucked from a borehole probe through an alpha scintillation chamber and flow meter by a pump. The permeability of the soil is calculated from the flow rate and the pressure difference between the atmosphere and the borehole at the intake point. The diffusion coefficient is estimated from the water fraction in the soil pores. The upward migration distance for radon in such soil during one mean life is computed from an arbitrary steady pressure difference. This mean migration distance, multiplied by the measured radon concentration, gives the 'radon availability number'. Measurements at sites of known indoor radon concentration suggest that numbers below 2 kBq.m-2 indicate litte chance of elevated indoor radon and above 20 kBq.m-2 indicate that elevated indoor radon is likely. The range of uncertainty and the point-to-point and seasonal variations to be expected are under investigation.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A tentative protocol for measurement of radon availability from the ground
Series title Radiation Protection Dosimetry
DOI 10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a080246
Volume 24
Issue 1-4
Publication Date August 01, 1988
Year Published 1988
Language English
Publisher Oxford Academic
Description 5 p.
First page 79
Last page 83
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