Michael Tadrous
Research Mentor(s): Kimberlee Kearfott
Mentor Department: NERS/BME
Authors: Michael Tadrous, Jordan Noey, Kimberlee Kearfott
Session: Session 4 (1:00pm – 1:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 20
Abstract
Measurement devices for screening of radon levels are expected to be both accurate, and precise. Fully informed radiation assessments for research or mitigations additionally require instruments capable of exceptional temporal response. The new Durridge Rad8 temporal radon and thoron monitor has not been widely evaluated in terms of its sensitivity, calibration accuracy, and ability to track temporal changes. This research investigated operations for the Rad8 and its performance for 1-day integrating, 2-day integrating, sniff, soil, and water radon and thoron measurement modes. Measurements were taken in a poorly ventilated but highly characterized basement space in an occupied building due to the lack of a controlled radon chamber. The Bertin AlphaGuard was served as a laboratory reference instrument (“gold standardâ€) for all experiments, i.e. this was assumed to represent actual radon concentrations. The Rad8 was also compared to the manufacturer’s prior version, the Rad7. Whenever possible, identical measurements were also simultaneously acquired with several RadonFTlab/EcoSense Radon Eyes, affordable consumer-grade devices with excellent performance but limited to measuring ambient air and incapable of thoron measurements. Special accessories are needed to make several types of radon measurements. Such accessories compatible with the Durridge instruments were evaluated along with the resulting measurements for both the Rad7 and Rad8. These included the DRYSTIK for reducing moisture, the RAD H2O for measurements in water samples, the Soil Gas Probe for underground radon, and the RAD AQUA which enables the continuous monitoring of radon in water. The R-squared linear regression correlation coefficient and sensitivities of each detector relative to the Alpha Guard were calculated when possible. In the end, the Rad8 outperformed its previous iteration and the other detectors while being a more intuitive device to use with its easy-to-navigate touchscreen display. Improvement of manuals could, however, decrease the learning curve for new users for several of the different measurement types.
