An innovative quick method for tracable measurement of radon 222 in drinking water

Franz Josef Maringer; Hannah Wiedner; Francesco Cardellini

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108907

An innovative quick method for tracable measurement of radon 222 in drinking water

Appl Radiat Isot. 2020 Jan:155:108907. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108907. Epub 2019 Sep 30.

Authors

Franz Josef Maringer¹, Hannah Wiedner², Francesco Cardellini³

Affiliations

¹ BEV - Bundesamt für Eich und Vermessungswesen, Arltgasse 35, 1160, Wien, Austria. Electronic address: franz-josef.maringer@bev.gv.at.
² BEV - Bundesamt für Eich und Vermessungswesen, Arltgasse 35, 1160, Wien, Austria.
³ ENEA - National Institute of Ionizing Radiation, Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Italy.

PMID: 31600633
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108907

Abstract

In this work, a quick and simple low-level radionuclide metrology technique for the traceable measurement of Rn-222 activity concentration in drinking water using a 0.56 l ionisation chamber operating in spectrometric pulse mode has been developed, tested, verified and applied to 16 water samples successfully. The impact of essential influencing factors on the result has been investigated, discussed and considered in the uncertainty budget of the measurement method. Finally, the new method has been assessed regarding the applicability on the EU Council Directive 2013/51.

Keywords: Characteristic limits; Drinking water; ISO 11929:2010; Ionisation chamber; ON S 5250-1:2001; Radon 222 activity concentration; Radon emanation; Traceable calibration; Uncertainty budget.