Absolute measurement of thoron in surface waters

Abstract

Thoron (radon-220,220 Rn, half-life 55.6 s) is a useful aqueous tracer suitable for applications such as locating and measuring groundwater discharge in surface waters (including the coastal ocean) and detecting radium-224 (224 Ra) bearing scale inside water pipes. Generally, such applications require only relative thoron measurements in the water. However, if a thoron-in-water quantification in absolute numbers is desired the knowledge of the thoron sensitivity of the measurement system is obligatory. Absolute readings would, e.g., give a measure of the224 Ra activity in the sediment, supporting the thoron, or of the quantity of224 Ra in the pipe scale. Since there is no standardised source of thoron-in-water (such as a NIST standard), there is no way to calibrate a thoron-in-water measurement system, in the usual sense. Up until now, therefore, it has not been possible to make absolute measurements of thoron in water. This paper presents a novel method of assessing the sensitivity of a mobile thoron-in-water measurement system. The paper analyses such systems and describes a straightforward experimental approach to obtain all setup-specific values of critical parameters that will allow a reasonably precise determination of the system thoron sensitivity. The method is simple enough that a thoron sensitivity calibration can be performed on site with no additional equipment.