Find the EGU on

Tag your tweets with #EGU18

Please note that this session was withdrawn and is no longer available in the respective programme. This withdrawal might have been the result of a merge with another session.

SC2.16

Real time demonstration of collecting and measuring radon and radon decay products in air, water and solids
Convener: Heiko Woith  | Co-Convener: Henning von Philipsborn 

Radon is a well-known tracer for geological, geophysical and geochemical studies. For teaching its use in classroom and in the field, a number of methods have been developed or perfected at the Radiometric Seminar, University of Regensburg, for its demonstration in real time within 90 minutes.

Collection of radon decay products from ambient air is obtained efficiently within minutes by deposition on a polystyrene plate, 7 cm x 13 cm, charged by rubbing and exposed on four rods, 13 cm in length, called Philion-Plate. From water, radon decay products are collected by filtration quantitatively on glass fiber filters, subsequently dried on a small hot stage. Radon emanating from solids is collected by adsorption on charcoal, both enclosed in a small volume.

Measurement of the three collectors described is performed with a sensitivity of a few Bq with a simple, gas filled contamination monitor, 30 cm2 in area or a silicon detector, 20 cm2 in area. Time dependent measurements reveal the factor of equilibrium between radon and its decay products, an additional information relevant for many studies.

These measuring approaches will be demonstrated in real time in this hands-on short course aimed at both young investigators and experienced researchers interested in measuring radon in air, water, or solids.

Reference: Philipsborn and Geipel, Teaching radon in the living environment: school experiments with air, liquids and solids. Science of the Total Environment 272, 369-370 (2001).