title: Activity size distributions of some naturally occurring radionuclides 7Be, 40K and 212Pb in indoor and outdoor environments.
abstract: The activity size distributions of natural radionuclides (7)Be and (40)K were measured outdoor in El-Minia city, Egypt by means of gamma spectroscopy. A low-pressure Berner cascade impactor was used as a sampling device. The activity size distribution of both (7)Be and (40)K was described by one log-normal distribution, which was represented by the accumulation mode. The activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) of (7)Be and (40)K was determined to be 530 and 1550 nm with a relative geometric standard deviation (delta, which was defined as the dispersion of the peak) of 2.4 and 2, respectively. The same sampling device (Berner impactor) and a screen diffusion battery were used to measure the activity size distribution, activity concentration and unattached fraction (f(P)) of (212)Pb in indoor air of El-Minia City, Egypt. The mean activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) of the accumulation mode for attached (212)Pb was determined to be 250 nm with a mean geometric standard deviation (delta) of 2.6. The mean value of the specific concentration of (212)Pb associated with that mode was determined to be 460+/-20 mBq m(-3). The activity median thermodynamic diameter (AMTD) of unattached (212)Pb was determined to be 1.25 nm with delta of 1.4. A mean unattached fraction (f(p)) of 0.13+/-0.02 was obtained at a mean aerosol particle concentration of 1.8 x 10(3) cm(-3). The mean activity concentration of unattached (212)Pb was found to be 19+/-3 mBq m(-3). It was found that the aerosol concentration played an important role in varying the unattached, attached activity concentration and unattached fraction (f(P)).
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Physics Department, El-Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt. amermohamed6@hotmail.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohamed