Characterization and applications of a walk-in-type mud test house for radioactive gas studies.

A mud test house has been constructed at NIT Kurukshetra, Haryana, India, for facilitating studies requiring controlled dispersion of radon/thoron gases and decay products at relatively higher concentration. This manuscript discusses the design specifications, characteristics, and the projected applications for this test house. With a total internal volume of 7.

Time-efficient etching of LR-115 SSNTD film for indoor radon, thoron quantification.

LR-115 Solid State Nuclear Track Detector (SSNTD) is commonly utilized for quantifying indoor radon-thoron levels, by tallying the tracks formed in the films by exposure to these gases. Conventionally, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is used to etch LR-115 films for 90 min at 60°C. However, this study suggests a time-efficient alternative approach utilizing potassium hydroxide (KOH) as the etchant.

A comprehensive study of radon in drinking waters of Hanumangarh district and the assessment of resulting dose to local population.

Study of radon concentration in drinking water from different sources (groundwater and surface water) used across the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, India, was done using scintillation-based detector. The concentration of radon in surface water varied from 0.12 to 2.

Radon and thoron inhalation doses in dwellings with earthen architecture: Comparison of measurement methods.

The radioactive noble gas radon (Rn) and its decay products have been considered a health risk in the indoor environment for many years because of their contribution to the radiation dose of the lungs. The radioisotope thoron (Rn) and its decay products came into focus of being a health risk only recently. The reason for this is its short half-life, so only building material can become a significant source for indoor thoron.

Estimation of EEC, unattached fraction and equilibrium factor for the assessment of radiological dose using pin-hole cup dosimeters and deposition based progeny sensors.

High concentration of radon ((222)Rn), thoron ((220)Rn) and their decay products in environment may increase the risk of radiological exposure to the mankind. The (222)Rn, (220)Rn concentration and their separate attached and unattached progeny concentration in units of EEC have been measured in the dwellings of Muktsar and Mansa districts of Punjab (India), using Pin-hole cup dosimeters and deposition based progeny sensors (DTPS/DRPS). The indoor (222)Rn and (220)Rn concentration was found to vary from 21 Bqm(-3) to 94 Bqm(-3) and 17 Bqm(-3) to 125 Bqm(-3).

Estimation of attached and unattached progeny of 222Rn and 220Rn concentration using deposition based progeny sensors.

The attached and unattached radon and thoron progeny concentrations have been calculated using deposition-based progeny sensors in Mansa, Muktsar, Bathinda and Faridkot districts of Punjab, India. The total (attached + unattached) equilibrium-equivalent (222)Rn concentration (EECRA + U) and total (attached + unattached) equilibrium-equivalent (220)Rn concentration (EECTA + U) were found to vary from 9 to 46 Bqm(-3) and 0.5 to 3.