A new model to accurately measure the radon exhalation rate from soil using AlphaGUARD

Shuaibin Liu; Tao Hu; Fen Lin; Zhongkai Fan; Ruomei Xie; Shuai Yuan; Jiulin Wu; Haibo Yi; Yixiang Mo; Jiale Sun; Linquan Chen; Huiying Li; Zhipeng Liu; Xinyi Zhang; Hongzhi Yuan; Yanliang Tan

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107226

A new model to accurately measure the radon exhalation rate from soil using AlphaGUARD

J Environ Radioact. 2023 Oct:266-267:107226. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107226. Epub 2023 Jul 5.

Authors

Shuaibin Liu¹, Tao Hu¹, Fen Lin¹, Zhongkai Fan², Ruomei Xie¹, Shuai Yuan¹, Jiulin Wu¹, Haibo Yi¹, Yixiang Mo¹, Jiale Sun¹, Linquan Chen¹, Huiying Li¹, Zhipeng Liu¹, Xinyi Zhang¹, Hongzhi Yuan¹, Yanliang Tan³

Affiliations

¹ College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, Hunan Province, 421008, China.
² School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan Province, 421001, China.
³ College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, Hunan Province, 421008, China. Electronic address: hytyl@163.com.

PMID: 37418812
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107226

Abstract

Radon exhalation rate from soil is a critical factor in evaluating environmental radon levels. However, AlphaGUARD PQ2000PRO may have some sensitivity towards thoron, which can have a significant impact on radon measurement. The traditional radon exhalation models generally ignore the presence of thoron, leading to an overestimation of the radon exhalation rate from soil. To handle this issue, a new model was proposed based on an analysis of several previous studies on radon exhalation theories. To prove the feasibility of the model, the radon exhalation rate measurements were performed by two different types of detectors-AlphaGUARD PQ2000PRO and RAD7. The radon exhalation rate obtained by using the new model is in good agreement with that obtained by using the theoretical model of radon exhalation of RAD7 within one standard error. This new model can be applied to accurately measure radon exhalation rate from soil by the PIC detector (PQ2000PRO).

Keywords: Accumulation chamber; AlphaGUARD PQ2000PRO; Interference of thoron; RAD7; Radon exhalation model.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants, Radioactive* / analysis
Exhalation
Radiation Monitoring*
Radon* / analysis
Soil
Soil Pollutants, Radioactive* / analysis

Substances

Radon
Soil
Air Pollutants, Radioactive
Soil Pollutants, Radioactive