Abstract
This work presents the development and first tests of a detector for continuous $^{222}$Rn in soil-gas measurements. It is based on scintillation spectrometry of $^{222}$Rn absorbed in scintillating polymers–plastic scintillator foils or plastic scintillation microspheres. The detector consists of an optical chamber optically coupled to a hermetic volume which contains small sized spectrometric components: a photomultiplier tube, high voltage supply, multi-channel analyzer and an outside board with chip-controlled sensors for pressure, temperature,humidity and an accelerometer. The detector is compact,portable and is designed for $^{222}$Rn in soil-gas in boreholes. Pilot laboratory studies of the performance of the detector are presented. They include: pulse-height spectrum characterization and energy resolution study with $^{239}$Pu source; counting efficiency study and study of the pulse-height spectrum of a plastic scintillator with $^{222}$Rn absorbed in it. The performance of the detector in the laboratory tests indicates that the approach to build a portable scintillation counter for $^{222}$Rn in soil-gas measurements in boreholes is feasible.
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