Intercomparisons Exercises of Radon and Thoron Monitors Provided by Four Laboratories: A Review

Electret ion chamber-based passive radon-thoron discriminative monitors.

Electret ion chambers (EICs), commercially available under brand name E-PERM(®), are widely used for measuring indoor and outdoor (222)Rn concentrations in air. These are designed to respond only to (222)Rn and not to (220)Rn by restricting diffusional entry area. Such radon EIC (R EIC) monitors are modified by increasing the entry area to allow (220)Rn, in addition to (222)Rn. Such modified un...

Comparative analysis of radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentration measurements

This study examined correlations between radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentrations based on surveys conducted in several different countries. For this purpose, passive detectors developed or modified by the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) were used. Radon and thoron concentrations were measured using passive discriminative radon-thoron detectors. Thoron progeny measurem...

Mitigation of radon and thoron decay products by filtration.

Inhalation of indoor radon ((222)Rn) and thoron ((220)Rn) decay products is the most important source of exposure to ionizing radiation for the human respiratory tract. Decreasing ventilation rates due to energy saving reasons in new buildings suggest additional active mitigation techniques to reduce the exposure in homes with high radon and thoron concentrations but poor ventilation. Filtratio...

Thoron spike test for passive radon detectors.

A radon-thoron isotope pair as a reliable earthquake precursor

Abnormal increases in radon ((222)Rn, half-life = 3.82 days) activity have occasionally been observed in underground environments before major earthquakes. However, (222)Rn alone could not be used to forecast earthquakes since it can also be increased due to diffusive inputs over its lifetime. Here, we show that a very short-lived isotope, thoron ((220)Rn, half-life = 55.6 s; mean life = 80 s),...