title: Discrimination of airborne radioactivity from radon progeny.
abstract: Naturally occurring radon and thoron progeny are the most interfering nuclides in the aerosol monitoring system. The high background and fluctuation of natural radioactivity on the filter can cause an error message to the aerosol monitor. A theoretical model was applied in the simulation of radon and thoron progeny behavior in the environment and on the filter. Results show that even a small amount of airborne nuclides on the filter could be discriminated by using the beta:alpha activity ratio instead of gross beta or alpha counting. This method can increase the sensitivity and reliability of real-time aerosol monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: E O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Knutson
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D017687:Radon Daughters
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D017687:Radon Daughters