Measurement of radon decay products and thoron decay products in air by beta counting using end-window Geiger-Muller counter.

A new grab sampling method has been developed for the simultaneous measurement of radon decay products and thoron decay products in air. It is based on direct beta counting of filtered aerosol sample over successive time intervals by end-window Geiger-Muller counter. Defined solid angle absolute counting was used to evaluate the efficiencies for the decay products one by one. Absolute activity concentrations can be determined with less than 10% systematic error. Glass-fiber filter, high sampling flow rate, and long duration of sampling can be used, as a result of which the detection limits are about 0.1, 0.2, and 0.01 Bq m(-3) for 214Pb, 214Bi, and 212Pb, respectively. Indoor saturated activity concentrations were measured in 86 buildings in Ajka town, Hungary, where industrial wastes rich in uranium had been used as building materials. Elevated radon decay product levels were found in houses built before 1960. Radon gas concentration was also measured simultaneously in 26 cases and the minimum, maximum, and average values of the equilibrium factor were 0.17, 0.73, and 0.40, respectively.