Measuring the activity of inhaled ²²²Rn using a lung counting system.

Abstract

A new method of directly measuring (222)Rn progeny in a worker's lung using a lung counting system is introduced. To determine the efficiency of the lung counting system, a torso phantom manufactured by the China Institute for Radiation Protection was used, where activated carbon that had been loaded in a radon chamber with a defined quantity of radon represented the lungs, which were usually made of urethane foam. The minimum detectable activity (MDA) of (214)Bi, one of the (222)Rn progenies, was estimated to be 7.3 Bq for a measurement time of 4000 s. Based on the time (222)Rn progenies stay in the lung, it may be concluded that the lung counting system described can be well used for directly measuring the activity of (214)Bi in the lung short time after a worker inhaled (222)Rn at his/her workplace.