Ultrafine Fraction and Aerosol Attached Activity Size Distribution of Radon Progeny in Living Room

Inhalation of 222Rn progeny in the domestic environment contributes the greatest fraction of the natural radiation exposure to the public. The ultrafine activity of these progeny amounts up to about l 0 percent of the total activity （attached and ultrafine）, but is considered to yield about 50 percent of the total radiation dose. Therefore, measurements of ultrafine fraction are essential for the estimation of radiation dose. The current study presents measured data on the total equilibrium equivalent concentration （EEC） and ultrafine equilibrium equivalent concentration （EECUn）, ultrafine fraction （fb）, attached and unattached activity size distributions of radon progeny in the low ventilated rooms at Minia University, Minia city, Egypt. A screen diffusion battery was used for collection the ultrafine fraction and measuring the total activity concentration of radon progeny. The attached activity size distribution of 214pb is determined by using a low pressure cascade impactor. The EEC of radon progeny varied between 1.3 and 18.9 Bq/m3 with a mean value of 5.2 ± 0.48 Bq/m2. The mean activity thermodynamic diameter （AMTD） ofultrafine of radon progeny was determined to be 1.26 nm with relative mean geometric standard deviations （GSD） of 1.3. The ultrafine fraction of radon progeny, fb, has a range 0.01 to 0.21 with an average of 0.08 ± 0.03. A relative mean GSD of 2.7 was determined for attached 2Lapb at a mean active median aerodynamic diameter （AMD） of 350 nm. Based on the above experimental results, the deposition fractions have been evaluated in each air way generation through the human lung by applying a lung deposition model. The bronchial deposition efficiencies of particles in the size range of attached radon progeny were found to be lower than those of ultrafine progeny. The effect of radon progeny deposition by adult male has been also studied for various levels of physical exertion. The dose conversion factor has been discussed as a function of fb.

Measurements of ^(222) Rn and ^(220)Rn with a Large Size Collector of Radon Progeny

Radon concentrations in high background radiation areas in the south are higher than those of others in China, especially 220 Rn concentration is significantly high. Therefore, measurements of 222 Rn and 220 Rn concentrations should be carried out there. This paper introduces a large size collector of radon progeny and its applications. The collector is a sheet of polyvinyl chloride fiber with electrostatics of (-500 V)-(-700 V). Its size (60 mm in diameter) is larger than those of others (26 mm in diameter) that work with the same principle. The collector is more effective to adsorb radon progeny than most of others. The equipment of ZnS(Ag) Scintillation Counting System is available for large size collectors to detect radon progeny. Therefore, its sensitivity of measurement is higher than that of others. According to the different half lives of radon progeny, and based on both theory and experiments, a formula for discrimination and calculation of 222 Rn and 220 Rn concentrations is deduced. The 222 Rn and 220 Rn concentrations were surveyed with electrostatic collectors of radon progeny on the campus of commercial school and some other areas in Hainan, southern China. Neither 222 Rn nor 220 Rn concentration was found significantly high. However, several faults underground were delineated. The collector is also used to study radon transportation. Results indicate that radon changes regularly with date when it has transported for a certain distance. Velocities of radon migration in the four media are quite different. Radon migrates more quickly in vertical tube than in the horizontal tube.

Daily variation of radon gas and its short-lived progeny concentration near ground level and estimation of aerosol residence time

Atmospheric concentrations of radon（^（222）Rn） gas and its short-lived progenies^（218）Po,^（214）Pb, and^（214）Po were continuously monitored every four hours at the ground level in Jeddah city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The measurements were performed three times every week, starting from November 2014 to October 2015. A method of electrostatic precipitation of positively charged^（218）Po and ^（214）Po by a positive voltage was applied for determining^（222）Rn gas concentration. The short-lived^（222）Rn progeny concentration was determined by using a filter holder connected with the alpha-spectrometric technique. The meteorological parameters（relative air humidity, air temperature, and wind speed） were determined during the measurements of^（222）Rn and its progeny concentrations.^（222）Rn gas as well as its short-lived progeny concentration display a daily and seasonal variation with high values in the night and early morning hours as compared to low values at noon and in the afternoon. The observed monthly atmospheric concentrations showed a seasonal trend with the highest values in the autumn/winter season and the lowest values in the spring/summer season. Moreover, and in parallel with alphaspectrometric measurements, a single filter-holder was used to collect air samples. The deposited activities of^（214）Pb and the long-lived^（222）Rn daughter ^（210）Pb on the filter were measured with the gamma spectrometric technique. The measured activity concentrations of^（214）Pb by both techniques were found to be relatively equal largely. The highest mean seasonally activity concentrations of ^（210）Pb were observed in the autumn/winter season while the lowest mean were observed in the spring/summer season. The mean residence time（MRT） of aerosol particles in the atmospheric air could be estimated from the activity ratios of ^（210）Pb/^（214）Pb.