An equilibrium-based model for measuring environmental radon using charcoal canisters

Health Physics
A L Lehnert, K J Kearfott

Abstract

Radon in indoor air is often measured using canisters of activated charcoal that function by adsorbing radon gas. The use of a diffusion barrier charcoal canister (DBCC) minimizes the effects of environmental humidity and extends the useful exposure time by several days. Many DBCC protocols model charcoal canisters as simple integrating detectors, which introduces errors due to the fact that radon uptake changes over the exposure period. Errors are compensated for by calculating a calibration factor that is nonlinear with respect to exposure time. This study involves the development and testing of an equilibrium-based model and corresponding measurement protocol that treats the charcoal canisters as a system coming into equilibrium with the surrounding radon environment. This model applies to both constant and temporally varying radon concentration situations, which was essential, as efforts are currently underway using a temporally varying radon chamber. It was found that the DBCCs equilibrate following the relationship E = (1 - e) where E is a measure of how close the DBCC is to equilibrium, t is exposure time, and q is the equilibration constant. This equilibration constant was empirically determined to be 0.019 h. The propo...Continue Reading

References

Feb 1, 1991·Health Physics·S C Scarpitta, N H Harley
May 1, 1990·Health Physics·R NagarajanD S Ensor
Feb 1, 1989·Health Physics·K J Kearfott
Aug 1, 1983·Health Physics·B L Cohen, E S Cohen
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Oct 3, 2003·Applied Radiation and Isotopes : Including Data, Instrumentation and Methods for Use in Agriculture, Industry and Medicine·M E Montero CabreraE F Herrera Peraza

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Citations

Dec 24, 2010·Radiation Protection Dosimetry·John A Harvey, Kimberlee J Kearfott
Oct 17, 2015·Journal of Radiation Research·Kimberlee J KearfottKhwaja M Rafique Mir

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