Calibration of CR-39 for different heights of radon dosimeters and application of radon concentration in Mahajran River sediment in Basra Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

Radon and its progenies are the main cause of lung cancer when they are trapped inside the lungs. Therefore, the radon activity concentration in air, water and soil samples should be measured, monitored and analysed. In this paper, river sediment samples collected from 30 different locations of Mahajran River, Basra, Iraq, were studied by using solid-state nuclear track detector type CR39. The track detector used for this purpose must be calibrated for concentrations of radon, Thoron and their daughters likely to be found in samples. The chamber used in the present calibration work had a volume of 125 L and contained a standard radon source (226Ra) and radon distribution fan. Results illustrated the dependence of the CR-39 calibration factor on the dosimeter height. The calibration factor used in this application was 0.34±0.0 Tr/cm2•day/Bq•m-3 for a height of 10 cm.