Radon emanation from fresh, altered and disturbed granitic rock characterized by 14C-PMMA impregnation and autoradiography

Karl-Heinz Hellmuth; Marja Siitari-Kauppi; Hannu Arvela; Antero Lindberg; Lionel Fonteneau; Paul Sardini

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.06.009

Radon emanation from fresh, altered and disturbed granitic rock characterized by ¹⁴C-PMMA impregnation and autoradiography

Appl Radiat Isot. 2017 Sep:127:195-208. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.06.009. Epub 2017 Jun 13.

Authors

Karl-Heinz Hellmuth¹, Marja Siitari-Kauppi², Hannu Arvela¹, Antero Lindberg³, Lionel Fonteneau⁴, Paul Sardini⁴

Affiliations

¹ Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), 00881 Helsinki, Finland.
² Laboratory of Radiochemistry, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsingin Yliopisto, Finland. Electronic address: marja.siitari-kauppi@helsinki.fi.
³ Geological Survey of Finland, 02151 Espoo, Finland.
⁴ IC2MP, HYDRASA, University of Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers, France.

PMID: 28633132
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.06.009

Abstract

Radon emanation from intact samples of fresh ("BG"), altered ("Fract") and disturbed ("EDZ") Finnish granitic rock from Kuru (Finland) and its dependence on humidity and rock structural factors was studied. The pore network of the rock was characterized by microscopy and impregnation with ¹⁴C-PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) resin and autoradiography. The radon emanation factor was increasing linearly with the relative humidity. ¹⁴C-PMMA autoradiography of the altered zones and the EDZ indicated significant, mineral-specific increase of porosity and porosity gradients towards the fracture surfaces (Fract) and microcracks within the EDZ. For small samples in the cm-scale emanation was not diffusion, but source term controlled.