Sampling for Airborne Radioactivity

Abstract

This report examines how to sample airborne radioactivity with minimal complexity and time expenditure, using conventional high-volume samplers in combination with alpha-particle spectrometry. The use of alpha spectrometry provides compensation for radon/thoron decay products collected on the filter paper of the sampler, leading to a seven-fold improvement in measurement sensitivity of artificial airborne alpha sources compared to simply treating radon/thoron products as a background contribution. It is estimated that high sensitivity measurements of airborne radioactivity can be made in under 30 minutes, using the procedures recommended in this report.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA476870

Entities

People

  • Peter D. Harty

Organizations

  • Defence Science and Technology Group

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Flow
  • Alpha Particles
  • Boundaries
  • Compensation
  • Detection
  • Energy
  • Filter Paper
  • Filters
  • Flow
  • Flow Rate
  • High Energy
  • Measurement
  • Paper
  • Particles
  • Radiation
  • Spectra
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Solar Physics
  • Systems Analysis and Design