• Analytical Science and Technology
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.39-47
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• 2003

The measurement of radium ($^{226}Ra$) in the groundwater was established using ${\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy without sample preparation. The background interference by air borne radon daughter nuclides was reduced by $N_2$ gas flow into the counting chamber. Leakage of radon gas produced in the radioactive equilibrium with radium and its daughter nuclides was prevented by use of the air-tighted aluminium container. We investigated the effect of air layer in the counting container. Radioactivity variation due to emanation of radon into the air layer was within the counting error range 5%. When the nitrogen gas was flowed around the detector, peak counts of ${\gamma}$-rays from the daughters of airborne radon was decreased and detection limit was decreased to 0.02 Bq/L. The detection limit of detector was lower than 0.74 Bq/L, the $^{226}Ra$ Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) in the groundwater proposed by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It was confirmed that $^{226}Ra$ radioactivity in the groundwater could be determined by the ${\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.146-151
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• 2012

An analytical method was developed for the measurement of uranium isotope in ground water using the liquid scintillation counting technique. A LKB Wallac Quantulus 1220 liquid scintillation counter (LSC) equipped with pulse shape analyzer (PSA) and a solvent extraction method were used for the measurement of uranium isotope in ground water samples. The effect of solution volume on the extraction efficiency was evaluated for 100 to 1000 mL solutions using a NIST standard reference material (NIST SRM 4321C). The effect of groundwater pH on the extraction efficiency was also investigated for pH ranging from 0.5 to 10. It was found that the extraction efficiency had a strong dependence on pH showing a maximum at pH 2. In contrast, the effect of groundwater volume on the extraction efficiency was negligible in the range investigated. According to the method, the extraction efficiency of uranium isotopes was near 96% and the lower detection limit for uranium was 0.018 Bq/L with the counting time of 300 min. The result of this study was also verified by the conventional ICP-MS measurement. It is demonstrated that the suggested method is valuable to the determination of the optimum extraction and measurement conditions for uranium in ground water. The method was successfully applied to the ground water at four locations near the Daejeon province. It was found that the uranium content and the isotopic ratio of $^{234}U/^{238}U$ at the locations ranged 0.59~6.69 Bq/L and 0.72~1.40, respectively.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.127-133
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• 2021

Background: Phosphogypsum is material produced as a byproduct in fertilizer industry and is generally used for building materials. This material may contain enhanced radium-226 (²²⁶Ra) activity concentration compared to its natural concentration that may lead to indoor radon accumulation. Therefore, an accurate measurement method is proposed in this study to determine ²²⁶Ra activity concentration in phosphogypsum sample, considering the potential radon leakage from the sample container. Materials and Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) phosphogypsum reference material was used as a sample in this study. High-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometry was used to measure the activity concentration of the ²²⁶Ra decay products, i.e., ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Pb. Marinelli beakers sealed with three different sealing methods were used as sample containers. Due to the potential leakage of radon from the Marinelli beaker (MB), correction to the activity concentration resulted in gamma spectrometry is needed. Therefore, the leaked fraction of radon escaped from the sample container was calculated and added to the gamma spectrometry measured values. Results and Discussion: Total activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra was determined by summing up the activity concentration from gamma spectrometry measurement and calculated concentration from radon leakage correction method. The results obtained from ²¹⁴Bi peak were 723.4 ± 4.0 Bq·kg^-1 in MB1 and 719.2 ± 3.5 Bq·kg^-1 in MB2 that showed about 5% discrepancy compared to the certified activity. Besides, results obtained from ²¹⁴Pb peak were 741.9 ± 3.6 Bq·kg^-1 in MB1 and 740.1 ± 3.4 Bq·kg^-1 in MB2 that showed about 2% difference compared to the certified activity measurement of ²²⁶Ra concentration activity. Conclusion: The results show that radon leakage correction was calculated with insignificant discrepancy to the certified values and provided improvement to the gamma spectrometry. Therefore, measuring ²²⁶Ra activity concentration in TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material) sample using radon leakage correction can be concluded as a convenient and accurate method that can be easily conducted with simple calculation.

• Resources Recycling
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.20-25
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• 2022

In this study, the applicability of microalgae was evaluated for eco-friendly decontamination of cesium-137 (Cs-137) and strontium-90 (Sr-90), which are radioactive nuclides contained in radioactive waste. The monolithic radioactive solution used in the experiment was manufactured at a concentration of 1.5 Bq/mL Cs-137 and 1.0 Bq/mL Sr-90 by diluting a standard radioactive solution and distilled water. This experiment used two types of microalgae, Chlorella Vulgaris was used for Sr-90 decontamination and Hematococcus pluvialis for Cs-137 decontamination. The experimental method is to put the microalgae cultured for 2 weeks into a bottle with a semi-permeable membrane, and then put the bottle in which the microalgae was put into the manufactured radioactive solution, so that the microalgae and the radioactive solution react through the semi-permeable membrane for 48 hours. For the radioactivity concentration analysis of each sample, a gamma-ray nuclide analyzer was used for Cs-137, a γ-ray isotope, and a Liquid Scintillation Count(LSC) was used f or Sr-90, a β-ray isotope. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that about 88.0 % of Cs-137 and about 89.7 % of Sr-90 could be decontaminated, and about 98.6 % of Sr-90 was finally able to be decontaminated by the two-stage decontamination method.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.587-598
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• 2023

To assess the distribution and temporal changes in radon concentration within a region in Yeonpung-myeon, Goesan-gun, known for elevated groundwater radon levels, we conducted a series of analyses, measuring radon concentration and DTW (Depth to water table) at 2-month intervals over 12 cycles. The investigation covered 10 groundwater wells and one stream within the designated area. The groundwater in the central part of the region exhibited high radon concentrations, ranging from 37.0 to 2,675.2 Bq/L. Conversely, the peripheral zones displayed comparatively lower radon concentrations, ranging from 10.6 to 37.9 Bq/L. This variation is attributed to the presence of granite porphyry that intruded into the Okcheon Formation, forming a fracture zone and contributing to elevated radon levels in the central part. In contrast, the peripheral locations, located within the Okcheon Formation and away from the granite porphyry intrusion, demonstrated lower radon concentrations. The observed significant fluctuation in radon concentration in the central area is associated with its low-lying topography. The pronounced seasonal changes in groundwater levels contribute to the migration of shallow, low-radon groundwater into areas with higher radon concentrations, explaining the observed variations in radon levels within the central part of the studied area.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.33-40
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• 2017

Identification of radon in soil provides information on the areas at risk for high radon exposure. In this study, we measured uranium-238 and radon-222 concentrations in soil to assess their approximate levels in Seoul. A total of 246 soil samples were taken to analyze uranium with ICP-MS, and 120 measurements of radon in soil were conducted with an in-situ radon detector, Rad7 at a depth of 1-1.5 m. The data were statistically analyzed and mapped, layered with geological classification. The range of uranium in soil was from 0.0 to 8.5 mg/kg with a mean value of 2.2 mg/kg, and the range of radon in soil was from 1,887 to $87,320Bq/m^3$ with a mean value of $18,271Bq/m^3$. The geology had a distinctive relationship to the uranium and radon levels in soil, with the uranium and radon concentrations in soils overlying granite more than double those of soils overlying metamorphic rocks.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2004년도 학술논문집
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• pp.52-57
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• 2004

In order to analyze key parameters of important radionuclides in dose evaluation model of decommissioning site, a sensitivity analysis was performed. This analysis assumed a resident farmer for an exposure scenario and 0.037Bq/g for the concentration of radionuclides. As a result of sensitivity analysis, the key parameters of radionuclides considered were the area of contaminated zone, external gamma shielding factor and indoor time fraction for Cs-137 and Co-60. The key parameters for C-14 were the environmental parameters and hydrological parameters of unsaturated zone. Also, the key parameter for Sr-90 was the density of contaminated zone.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.29-35
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to estimate the microbial metabolic activity of indigenous soil microbes under the radon exposure with different intensity and times in the secured laboratory radon chamber. For this purpose, the soil microbes were collected from radon-contaminated site located in the G county, Korea. Thereafter, their metabolic activity was determined after the radon exposure of varying radon concentrations of 185, 1,400 and 14,000 Bq/㎥. The average depth variable concentrations of soil radon in the radon-contaminated site were 707, 860 and 1,185 Bq/㎥ from 0, 15, and 30 cm in deep, respectively. Simultaneously, the soil microbial culture was mainly composed of Bacillus sp., Brevibacillus sp., Lysinibacillus sp., and Paenibacillus sp. From the radon exposure test, higher or lower radiation intensities compared to the threshold level attributed the metabolic activity of mixed microbial consortium to be reduced, whereas the moderate radiation intensity (i.e. threshold level) induced it to the pinnacle point. It was decided that radon radiation could instigate the microbial metabolic activity depending on the radon levels while they were exposed, which could consequently address that the certain extent of threshold concentration present in the ecosystem relevant to microbial diversity and population density to be more proliferated.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• 제24권9호
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• pp.1131-1138
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• 2015

Radon exhalation rates have been determined for samples of concrete, gypsum board, marble, and tile among building materials that are used in domestic construction environment. Radon emanation was measured using the closed chamber method based on CR-39 nuclear track detectors. The radon concentrations in apartments of 100 households in Seoul, Busan and Gyeonggi Provinces were measured to verify the prediction model of indoor radon concentration. The results obtained by the four samples showed the largest radon exhalation rate of $0.34314Bq/m^2{\cdot}h$ for sample concrete. The radon concentration contribution to indoor radon in the house due to exhalation from the concrete was $31.006{\pm}7.529Bq/m^3$. The difference between the prediction concentration and actual measured concentration was believed to be due to the uncertainty resulting from the model implementation.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.95-100
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• 2020

Background: Compared with reported data of radon concentration, data of radon progeny concentration is limited in general, especially in outdoor environment. Materials and Methods: To know both the level and the variation of radon progeny concentration in outdoor environment in Beijing area, one-year continuous measurement with a cycle of 60 minutes was carried out by a step-advanced filter (SAF) monitor for radon progeny measurement. The observation site was located in a park in Eastern Beijing area, and the observation period was from October 17, 2018 to September 29, 2019. Results and Discussion: The equivalent equilibrium concentration (EEC) of radon progeny varies from 0.7 to 19.1 Bq·m^-3, with an annual average of 4.9 ± 2.7 Bq·m^-3. A clear diurnal variation of EEC, higher in the early morning and lower in the late afternoon, is observed due to the high sensitivity of the SAF monitor. Conclusion: Vertical convection of atmospheric boundary layer is thought to be the main reason of this phenomenon. For annual variation, the lowest monthly average EEC appeared in April, while the highest appeared in November, which might attribute to the atmospheric stability in different seasons.