Characterization of Commercially Available Active-Type Radon–Thoron Monitors at Different Sampling Flow Rates

Abstract

Recently, some commercially available active-type radon–thoron monitors were developed; however, their performance has not been characterized. This article presents the characteristics of three commercially available active-type radon–thoron monitors (RAD7, Radon Mapper, and AlphaGUARD) at different sampling flow rates. The thoron concentration measured by the monitors was compared with the reference value measured by a grab sampling method. As a result, the ratio of the measured concentration to the reference increased with flow rate for the RAD7 and the Radon Mapper although that of the AlphaGUARD decreased. The difference may be attributed to the coefficients used in the calculation and the measurement time scheme. The results indicate the importance of the sampling flow rate in thoron measurement. Monitoring of flow rate at the measurement and periodic calibration at multiple sampling flow rates should be conducted for quality assurance and quality control of the measurand.