A comparative study on radioactive characteristics of the minerals for radon therapy

Abstract

To elucidate the mechanism of the radon therapy, we analyzed the radioactive characteristics of the minerals in the famous regions for the radon therapy. Using a high-purity germanium detector, we measured the sludge at the hot bathroom with a high concentration of radon at Misasa Medical Center of Okayama University Medical School, the hokutolite, which was the same kind of mineral at Tamagawa Hot Spring in Japan, and the mineral at the gallery of Badgastein in Austria, which are celebrated regions for the radon therapy. As a result, the ratios of the uranium series to the thorium series for the sludge of Misasa, the hokutolite, and the mineral of Badgastein were 22, 50, and 0.94, respectively. The sludge of Misasa and the hokutolite mainly included the radioelements of the uranium series, while the mineral of Badgastein included the radioelements of both series with almost the same ratio. The ratio of the mineral of Badgastein is similar to that of background (1.1). Furthermore, two kinds of minerals, which are commercially available for radon therapy, were measured using the same detector. The ratios for the two minerals were 0.26 and 0.20, namely, the two minerals included larger radioelements of the thorium series than those of the uranium series.