Professional Documents
Culture Documents
edu
1 of 9
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
Latest
News
Realtime
Summary
Air
Monitoring
About
RadWatch
BRAWM
Data
(2011-2013)
KelpWatch
Introduction
Frequently
Asked
Questions /
Ask A
Question
Contact
Who We
Are
Trending
Donate!
09/11/2014 20:17
2 of 9
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
09/11/2014 20:17
3 of 9
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
This plot shows the spectrum from the first three hours, overlaid
with a spectral model for the four isotopes:
This next plot shows the spectrum for 3 days after the Po-214 has
decayed away. The three isotopes Po-210, Bi-212, and Po-212
remain:
09/11/2014 20:17
4 of 9
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
After the first 3 days, the Bi-212 and Po-212 entirely disappear.
This makes sense because they are on the Rn-220 decay chain
after the beta-emitting isotope Lead-212 (10.6 hours), so after a
few half-lives of Pb-212 this decay chain is exhausted.
What remains is Polonium-210 (138 days), which is "fed" by
another Radon decay product, Lead-210 (22.3 years). So Po-210
remains for a very long time. In fact, its activity has been steadily
increasing during our test as more and more Pb-210 decays into
Po-210. Here is what the spectrum looks like from three days after
the start until presently:
Isotope
Alpha Energies
U-238
4.14.2 MeV
U-234
4.74.8 MeV
U-235
4.34.4 MeV
Pu-238
5.45.5 MeV
Pu-239
5.15.2 MeV
09/11/2014 20:17
5 of 9
Am-241
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
5.45.5 MeV
09/11/2014 20:17
6 of 9
Efficiency
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
Estimate Reasoning
Geometric
3.9%
Left/Right
50%
Escape
from filter
0.33%
Detection
100%
Total
0.0064%
Similar to the efficiency is what I will call the "spectral form factor."
To calculate the detection limits, we'll select a certain region of the
spectrum, such as 3.24.2 MeV for U-238. Since an alpha line will
spread out beyond this range, we need to know what fraction
should fall in that selected range. Based on the Po-210 line shape,
a window 1 MeV wide should yield good sensitivity, but only about
50% of counts would be registered. We will use 1 MeV windows
and a spectral form factor of 50%.
Here is some math showing how minimum detectable activity
(MDA) is calculated:
Activity
Concentration
09/11/2014 20:17
7 of 9
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
(Bq/L)
Background
Noise
2 Background Noise
Minimum
Detectable
Activity (Bq/L)
Air Volume:
5,500,000 L
Counting Time:
7,259,912 sec
Efficiency:
0.0064% (estimated)
Range of
Years of
breathing
the air to
equal
Number of
MDA MDA
Isotope spectrum
alphas in
dose
(Bq/L) (aCi/m3)
investigated background
from one
plane
flight (5
millirem)
U-238
U-234
3.24.2 MeV
3.84.8 MeV
3,036
<
8.6E-8
Bq/L
4,354
<
1.0E-7
Bq/L
< 2,300
aCi/m3
> 2.6
years
< 2,800
> 1.9
aCi/m3
years
09/11/2014 20:17
8 of 9
U-235
Pu-238
Pu-239
3.44.4 MeV
4.55.5 MeV
4.25.2 MeV
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
3,445
<
9.2E-8
Bq/L
5,047
<
1.1E-7
Bq/L
<
1.2E-7
5,588
Bq/L
Am-241
4.55.5 MeV
<
1.1E-7
Bq/L
5,047
< 2,500
> 2.4
aCi/m3
years
< 3,000
> 0.7
years
aCi/m3
< 3,200
aCi/m3
< 3,000
aCi/m3
> 0.6
years
> 0.7
years
While our limits are comparable to the limits we have set for
fission product isotopes from Japan, the EPA reached much lower
limits. The EPA performed several tests for Pu and U in the first
few weeks after the Fukushima disaster. They issued a report on
their findings. In San Francisco, there was a detection of U-238,
but no detections of U-234, U-235, Pu-238, or Pu-239. Here are
the data, accessed via the EPA query search. MDA was estimated
by taking twice the uncertainty (CSU):
Isotope
Result
(aCi/m3)
MDA (aCi/m3)
U-238
14.16.3
12.6
U-234
ND
10.8
U-235
ND
8.8
Pu-238
ND
7.0
Pu-239
ND
11.6
So our limits are about 200300 times higher than the EPA limits.
Even though we spent a longer time collecting data, the signalto-noise is just too poor for us to reach similar limits.
Because of the difficulties inherent in measuring alpha particles
from an air filter, the standard procedure is to perform some
chemistry on the filter to extract and concentrate the actinides
(Uranium, Plutonium, Americium, and others). These elements are
then electroplated onto a metal film and placed in front of a
09/11/2014 20:17
9 of 9
http://radwatch.berkeley.edu/AirFilterResults
If you would like to know more about alpha spectroscopy, here are
a few online references:
EPA Alpha Spectrometry Tutorial
Canberra: A Practical Guide to Successful Alpha
Spectroscopy
Canberra: Sample Preparation for Alpha Spectroscopy
09/11/2014 20:17