Radon emanometric technique for 226Ra estimation

Studies on natural background radiation show that the major contribution of radiation dose received by population is through inhalation pathway vis-à-vis contribution from radon (²²²Rn) gas. The immediate parent of radon being radium (²²⁶Ra), it is imperative that radium content is measured in the various matrices that are present in the environment. Among the various methods available for the measurement of radium, gamma spectrometry and radiochemical method are the two extensively used measurement methods. In comparison with these two methods, the radon emanometric technique, described here, is a simple and convenient method. The paper gives details of sample processing, radon bubbler, Lucas cell and the methodology used in the emanometric method. Comparison of emanometric method with gamma spectrometry has also undertaken and the results for a few soil samples are given. The results show a fairly good agreement among the two methods.