A new method is presented for determining the airborne concentrations of RaA, RaB and RaC in atmospheres contaminated with radon-222. The method employs alpha spectroscopy to measure the count rates of RaA and RaC' present on a membrane filter sample at two post-sampling times. The individual air concentrations and the statistical variances associated with each then may be calculated from the equations given. Theoretical and experimental comparisons are presented which indicate the improved accuracy of the spectroscopic method over methods previously available.
Total deposition in the human respiratory tract of the short-lived radon progeny present in a "typical" uranium mine atmosphere was determined in thirty separate experiments, Effective diffusion coefficients for the total radon progeny activity were determined by diffusion tube sampling of the exposure atmosphere, and concentrations of RaA, RaB and RaC were measured in both the inspired and exhaled air. Respiration rates and tidal volumes were also measured for each experiment.Total percent Working Level depositions, defined by the relationship : W L in inspired air 1 '
WL in exhaled air
[l -were in the range of 30-65%. Percent depositions for individual radon daughters were also measured, with mean values of 50.4%, 44.7% and 40.6% determined for RaA, RaB, and RaC, respectively, for an average respiration rate of 18 min-' and an average tidal volume of 1.2 1.The experimentally determined relationships between total deposition and respiratory rate and tidal volume are presented.
VI 1. North-central New Mexico 2. Los Alamos County residential areas and LASL technical areas 3. TLD and air sampler locations 4. Log-normal probability distributions of TLD data 5. Gross beta activity concentrations in daily air samples 6. Log-normal probability distribution of atmospheric tritium concentrations 15 7. Log-normal probability distributions of airborne piutonium concentrations 8. Regional surface water, sediment, and soil sampling locations 9. Water sampling locations in White Rock Canyon of the Rio Grande 25 10. Water, sediment, and soil sampling locations on or near the LASL site 26 11. Distribution of hourly and daily rainfall rates during 1973 45 12. Total precipitation isohyets for June through October 1973 47 13. Wind roses for Los Alamos, 1973
High radon progeny exposures exist in structures where uranium mill tailings have been improperly used as a concrete aggregate constituent and as a leveling or backfill material. The application of a radon barrier on the indoor face of these structures' foundations is considered a potential means to reduce the radon progeny exposure to the occupants. Presented here are the methods used and the results obtained in the search for a material capable of inhibiting or entirely blocking diffusion of a noble radioactive gas such as radon; a material which would simultaneously offer good durability and be practical. Demonstration of the method's applicability is shown by successful reduction of radon concentrations to sub-background levels in an experimental building built atop uranium mill tailings.
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