Bias in the measurement of radon gas using ionization chambers: Application to SIR

S Pierre; B Sabot; P Cassette; J Liang; S Courte; L Ferreux; G Ratel

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.10.040

Bias in the measurement of radon gas using ionization chambers: Application to SIR

Appl Radiat Isot. 2018 Apr:134:13-17. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.10.040. Epub 2017 Oct 31.

Authors

S Pierre¹, B Sabot², P Cassette², J Liang³, S Courte⁴, L Ferreux², G Ratel⁴

Affiliations

¹ CEA, LIST, Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel (LNE-LNHB), Bât. 602 PC111 CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Electronic address: sylvie.pierre@cea.fr.
² CEA, LIST, Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel (LNE-LNHB), Bât. 602 PC111 CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
³ Ionizing Radiation Division, National Institute of Metrology, No. 18, Bei San Huan Dong Lu, Beijing Zip Code: 100013, PR China.
⁴ BIPM, Pavillon de Breteuil, 12, bis Grande Rue, 92312 Sèvres Cedex, France.

PMID: 29113709
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.10.040

Abstract

Two main non-destructive techniques can be used to measure standard ²²²Rn gas ampoules: well-type ionization chambers and gamma-ray spectrometry, the former being used in the Système International de Référence (SIR) for international comparison purposes. The reliability of these techniques requires that the variability of the flame-sealed gas glass ampoules used have a negligible influence on the detector response. This variability is studied in this work by considering three parameters: the volume of the ampoule, the position of the sealing point and the thickness of the glass. Results showed that variability of the gas ampoules induced measurement bias larger than the uncertainty of the standard sources.

Keywords: Gamma-ray spectrometry; Ionization chamber; Rn-222; SIR.