us in ^ a Radon Pressure Chamber to Determine Cell Counting Efficiencies as a Function of Elevation

Building on previous research, which indicated that scintillation cells perform differently at different elevations (Burkhart, 2005; Eberline, 1989; George, l983), a pressure chamber has been designed which allows for the simulation of scintillation cell use at different "elevations." The pressure chamber has been constructed in such a way as to accommodate a large flexible bag that is filled with a known radon concentration. Radon is extracted from the bag into scintillation cells while the pressure chamber, and hence the flexible bag it contains, is maintained at various pressures. The most popular size scintillation cell is used for this study. The variation in counting efficiency caused by air density differences, and the resultant change in alpha particle travel distance, is similar to the 10 % error predicted in the previous theoretical study cited above (Burkhart, 2005).