Performance of a commercial radon-in-water measurement kit

• Published in: Journal of environmental radioactivity Vol. 99; no. 8; pp. 1255 - 1257
• Main Authors: Kitto, Michael E., Fielman, Eileen M., Haines, Douglas K., Menia, Traci A., Bari, Abdul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Analysis methods; Applied sciences; Bias; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Electret; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Exact sciences and technology; Groundwater; Groundwaters; Liquid scintillation; Natural water pollution; Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; Radon; Radon - analysis; Scintillation Counting; Water Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis; Water treatment and pollution; New York; United States; North America; America; USA, New York; Groundwater; Radon; Bias; Liquid scintillation; Electret; Natural origin pollution; Radioactivity counter; Radioactive pollution; Radon;Groundwater;Electret;Liquid scintillation;Bias; Radioisotope; Tap water; Radioactivity measurement; Quality control; Kit; Water quality; Water pollution; Performance; Comparative study; Ground water
• ISSN: 0265-931X; 1879-1700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2008.03.006

Methods currently approved for the measurement of radon (
222Rn) in water in New York State are liquid scintillation counting and emanation into alpha-scintillation cells. A passive system using an electret ion chamber (EIC) was evaluated as an alternative for the measurement of radon in water. Over 130 water samples from a community water supply containing 32
Bq
L
−1 and 30 standards containing 686
Bq
L
−1 were measured using the EIC method over 1- to 4-day exposure times. For comparison, identical samples were measured using liquid scintillation counting. Results of duplicate samples were typically within 5% for liquid scintillation counting and within 10% for the EIC. With respect to accuracy, the EIC produced results that were consistently low by 11–15%.