Radon isotopes and their decay products cause most of the natural radioactivity in atmosphere at ground level (Jacobi, 1964; Altshuler et al., 1964; UNSCEAR, 1988, 1993; Porstendorfer, 1994; Kathren, 1998). 222Rn (Radon) and 220Rn (Thoron) enter the atmosphere from the Earths surface, where they are produced via radioactive decay of the precursors 238U and 232Th respectively. The major contribution to the natural radioactivity dose is from the inhalation of the daughters of this gas. They are attached to very fine particles (Bergamini et al., 1973; Porstendorfer, 1994; Mohammed et al., 2000) and deposit on the surface of the different parts of the respiratory system with a probability dependent on aerosol particle sizes (ICRP, 1994). The dynamics of the gas could be similar to that of the atmospheric particulate and the daily change in concentration can be correlated to it. The γ-rays produced by the Radon daughters come both from the earth surface and from the radon contained in the air. For a detector placed in a fixed position, the first contribution remains constant over the time while the second follows the change in gas concentration in air. In order to determine the two contributions a system composed by three sodium iodide detectors has been designed and installed on a tower at the LNL (Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro). The aim of this project is to understand the behavior of γ emissions from ground surface at different altitudes and also to study the correlation between the atmospheric conditions, like the altitude of the atmosphere inversion layer, and the radon concentration in air. http://www.fe.infn.it/u/mantovani/CV/Proceedings/Bezzon_11b.pdf
A γ-Spectroscopy System for Atmospheric Radon Detection
MANTOVANI, Fabio;SHYTI, Manjola;XHIXHA, Gerti;
2011
Abstract
Radon isotopes and their decay products cause most of the natural radioactivity in atmosphere at ground level (Jacobi, 1964; Altshuler et al., 1964; UNSCEAR, 1988, 1993; Porstendorfer, 1994; Kathren, 1998). 222Rn (Radon) and 220Rn (Thoron) enter the atmosphere from the Earths surface, where they are produced via radioactive decay of the precursors 238U and 232Th respectively. The major contribution to the natural radioactivity dose is from the inhalation of the daughters of this gas. They are attached to very fine particles (Bergamini et al., 1973; Porstendorfer, 1994; Mohammed et al., 2000) and deposit on the surface of the different parts of the respiratory system with a probability dependent on aerosol particle sizes (ICRP, 1994). The dynamics of the gas could be similar to that of the atmospheric particulate and the daily change in concentration can be correlated to it. The γ-rays produced by the Radon daughters come both from the earth surface and from the radon contained in the air. For a detector placed in a fixed position, the first contribution remains constant over the time while the second follows the change in gas concentration in air. In order to determine the two contributions a system composed by three sodium iodide detectors has been designed and installed on a tower at the LNL (Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro). The aim of this project is to understand the behavior of γ emissions from ground surface at different altitudes and also to study the correlation between the atmospheric conditions, like the altitude of the atmosphere inversion layer, and the radon concentration in air. http://www.fe.infn.it/u/mantovani/CV/Proceedings/Bezzon_11b.pdfI documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
