title: Calibration of commercial radon and thoron monitors at stable activtiy concentrations.
abstract: The upcoming revision of Council Directive 96/29/Euratom in the form of the proposed basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionizing radiation (BSS) evokes new challenges for the metrology institutes. In the case of the two radon isotopes, the corresponding public exposure will be part of legal metrology for the first time. Since the levels of activity concentration that are laid down in the draft of the BSS cover the range from 200 Bq/m(3) to 300 Bq/m(3) in general (with an exceptional top level of 1000 Bq/m(3)), new calibration procedures for existing commercial monitors with their limited counting statistic have to be developed. This paper gives an overview how this metrological challenge can be overcome.
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany. Electronic address: annette.roettger@ptb.de.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Röttger
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Honig
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Linzmaier
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D011886:Radon
keywords: Calibration; Emanation; Metrology; Radon; Reference atmospheres; Thoron