Comparison of active and passive methods for radon exhalation from a high-exposure building material.

The radon exhalation rates and radon concentrations in granite stones used in Iran were measured by means of a high-resolution high purity Germanium gamma-spectroscopy system (passive method) and an AlphaGUARD model PQ 2000 (active method). For standard rooms (4.0 × 5.0 m area × 2.8 height) where ground and walls have been covered by granite stones, the radon concentration and the radon exhalation rate by two methods were calculated. The activity concentrations of (226)Ra in the selected granite samples ranged from 3.8 to 94.2 Bq kg(-1). The radon exhalation rate from the calculation of the (226)Ra activity concentration was obtained. The radon exhalation rates were 1.31-7.86 Bq m(-2)h(-1). The direction measurements using an AlphaGUARD were from 218 to 1306 Bq m(-3) with a mean of 625 Bq m(-3). Also, the exhalation rates measured by the passive and active methods were compared and the results of this study were the same, with the active method being 22 % higher than the passive method.