Implications for analysis of (226)Ra in a low-level gamma spectrometry laboratory due to variations in radon background levels

Alexander Mauring; Torbjörn Gäfvert; Thomas Bandur Aleksandersen

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2014.07.004

Implications for analysis of (226)Ra in a low-level gamma spectrometry laboratory due to variations in radon background levels

Appl Radiat Isot. 2014 Dec:94:54-59. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2014.07.004. Epub 2014 Jul 16.

Authors

Alexander Mauring¹, Torbjörn Gäfvert², Thomas Bandur Aleksandersen²

Affiliations

¹ Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, P.O. Box 55, 1332 Østerås, Norway. Electronic address: Alexander.Mauring@nrpa.no.
² Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, P.O. Box 55, 1332 Østerås, Norway.

PMID: 25103249
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2014.07.004

Abstract

The background spectrum of HPGe detectors is found to vary significantly as function of the radon concentration in the air surrounding it, especially with regard to the count rates of (222)Rn daughter peaks. This effect is shown to potentially have a large impact on measured values of radon daughter activity concentration, as well as detection limits for low-level measurements. As these radionuclides are commonly used for estimating the activity of (226)Ra, care needs to be taken to ensure that background levels are accurately determined.

Keywords: Gamma spectrometry; HPGe detectors; NORM measurements; Radon variation; Systematic effects.