Instrument Support Level 3
ANSTO 1500L low level radon detector
Not Applicable
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Radon Measurements
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisations (ANSTO) 1500L low-level radon monitor provides a unique technology for highly sensitive measurements of atmospheric radon (< 100 mBq m-3) and is recognised by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) as the best in the world for global and atmospheric compositional baseline studies.
The ANSTO dual-flow-loop two-filter works by removing all ambient radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) progeny in the sampled air from the airstream using a filter before the air passes into a large delay volume to allow for the decay of the short-lived isotope 220Rn.
The sample air in the detector is passed through a flow loop at a flow rate designed to exchange the delay volume’s air in approximately 20 minutes. This allows time for new radon progeny to form. A second flow loop circulates the volume of the delay chamber through the second filter (a low-impedance 625 mesh stainless steel screen) to collect all 218Po progeny. The newly formed progeny are collected on the second filter and their decays are counted with a ZnS-photomultiplier system. Using the flow rate and the count rate the atmospheric 222Rn concentrations can be calculated
The ANSTO monitor is automatically calibrated monthly by a controlled injection of radon from a well-characterized 226Rn source into the detector.
For more details please contact Grant Forster
Please contact Grant Forster with any data queries