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Reference device for calibration of radon exhalation rate measuring instruments and its performance

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Abstract

Environmental radon emanates from the exhalation and release of soil, rocks, and building materials. Environmental radon contamination tracing and radon pollution prevention and control require the measurement of the radon exhalation rate on media surfaces. Reliable measurements of the radon exhalation rate cannot be achieved without regular calibration of the measuring instrument with a high-performance reference device. In this study, a reference device for the calibration of radon exhalation rate measuring instruments was developed using a diffusion solid radon source with a high and stable radon emanation coefficient, an integrated diffusion component composed of a plasterboard and a high-density wooden board, an air pressure balance device, a radon accumulation chamber, and a support structure. The uniformity and stability of the reference device were evaluated using the activated carbon-γ spectrum and open-loop method, respectively, to measure the radon exhalation rate. The reference device achieved different radon exhalation rates by using different activities of diffusion solid radon sources. Nineteen measurement points were regularly selected on the radon exhalation surface of the reference device, and the uniformity of the radon exhalation rate exceeded 5%. The short-term stability of the reference device was better than 5% under different environmental conditions and was almost unaffected by the ambient air pressure, environmental temperature, and relative humidity.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Science Data Bank at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00186.00136 and https://cstr.cn/31253.11.sciencedb.j00186.00136.

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Acknowledgements

We are particularly grateful to Drs. Shao-Bin Guan, Zong-Jie Zhou, Feng-Lin Li, and Tao Sun of the Chinese Nuclear Industry Remote Sensing Center for providing support under experimental conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Radon, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Wei-Gang Li, De-Tao Xiao, Zheng-Zhong He, Xiang-Yuan Deng & Shou-Kang Qiu

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  1. Wei-Gang Li
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  2. De-Tao Xiao
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  3. Zheng-Zhong He
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  4. Xiang-Yuan Deng
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  5. Shou-Kang Qiu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Wei-Gang Li, De-Tao Xiao, Zheng-Zhong He, Xiang-Yuan Deng and Shou-Kang Qiu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Wei-Gang Li and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to De-Tao Xiao.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.11875165).

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Li, WG., Xiao, DT., He, ZZ. et al. Reference device for calibration of radon exhalation rate measuring instruments and its performance. NUCL SCI TECH 34, 128 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-023-01275-3

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