Measurement of airborne radon concentrations at several sites in a radioactivity research laboratory

Radon-222 is a natural, gaseous, radioactive nuclide released from the ground and building materials into the air. Radon and its daughter nuclides can be an important disturbance factor for the measurement of environmental radioactivity. Radon concentrations in air in a radiation laboratory were measured with PICO-RAD detectors, which directly adsorb radon gas on activated charcoal. Generally, radon concentration increased in the absence of ventilation; a high concentration was observed in a radioisotope storage room without ventilation. Concentrations were low in other rooms used for experiments and measurement, which suggests that the radiation control practice in this laboratory is satisfactory and that the influence of natural radon gas on the measurement of radioactivity is negligible.