title: Efficient adsorption of waterborne short-lived radon decay products by glass fiber filters.
abstract: Glass fiber filters of a certain brand were found to be very efficient (retention > 95%) for adsorption of short-lived radon decay products during filtration of water. Carrier-free samples are obtained in a convenient geometry for efficient gross beta counting. Adsorption of "hot atoms" is not disturbed by the presence of "cold" lead ions. Approximate radioactive equilibrium between radon and its short-lived decay products may or may not exist in water at the source, but does exist after 3 h in PET bottles. These bottles are shown to be gas-tight for radon. Calibration of activity concentration in Bq L(-1) (radon gas concentration approximately equilibrium equivalent radon concentration) was performed by several standard procedures. Limit of detection is 2 Bq L(-1) within 10 min (total time) or 10 Bq L(-1) within 5 min for a net signal of 5 times standard deviation.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physics, University of Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: von Philipsborn
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods; D005858:Germany; D005898:Glass; D007854:Lead; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D017687:Radon Daughters / Q000032:analysis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D017687:Radon Daughters; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D007854:Lead; D011886:Radon