[ RadSafe ] Fwd: Fwd: [New post] Raised radiation level found inMissouri ...

Joseph Shonka jjshonka at shonka.com
Tue Jan 7 13:52:33 CST 2014


Andy

Wasn't the bulk of the radon you were measuring from a few days upwind of
the NJ site?  Radon is quite low along the beach in California, because the
Pacific Ocean is many radon half lives wide.  It builds up to equilibrium
as the prevailing westerly winds carry the parcel of air to the east.
Thus, the soil conditions upwind of you site are what drives the local
radon concentration.

Joe


On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 2:24 PM, <Andycgeo at aol.com> wrote:

> Back in the 1970's  I made lots of radon emanation  measurements  from soil
> during all seasons in Chester New Jersey. In the last two weeks of  January
> and the first two weeks of February when the top 2-3 inches of  soil was
> frozen the radon emanation dropped by a factor of 20-30. I expect that  a
> similar reduction in emanation will occur with ice on top of the soil.
>
> Andy George
>
>
> In a message dated 1/7/2014 2:09:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> jjshonka at shonka.com writes:
>
> When the  ground freezes, radon emanation rates go to near zero.  The
> ground
> a  few hundred kilometers west of the area provides most of the radon seen
> in  the atmosphere in the northern hemisphere.  This radon would  be
> available for co-precipitation during rainfall or snowfall events.   When
> spring thaw comes, radon can be much higher than "normal" for a short  time
> due to higher than normal levels of radon in the ground.  ANL  reported an
> incident many years ago due to this phenomenon.
>
>
> On  Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 12:34 PM, Chris Alston <achris1999 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Folks
> >
> > What is happening to the radon source  term, given the cold and
> > snowpack?  I can remember, many years  ago, when I was green as a
> > grasshopper, doing verification of remedial  action for depleted U on a
> > property (a large lawn or backyard, from  which we had stripped the
> > sod) with a FIDLER, during an afternoon when  it was warm, sunny, and
> > breezy.  I went back to finish work the  next morning, when it was
> > cold, damp, and heavily foggy (the airport  was socked-in).  The whole
> > area was "hot" again.  Baffled, I  walkie-talkied my boss.  He laughed,
> > and explained, basically,  that due to the low-pressure, more *natural*
> > radon was emanating from  the soil, and it was not moving much, due to
> > the cold, so the  daughters were ingrowing.  In effect, our carefully
> > determined  gamma background for the area was out the window.
> >
> >  Cheers
> > cja
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >  From: Brennan, Mike  (DOH) <Mike.Brennan at doh.wa.gov>
> > Date:  Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 11:59 AM
> > Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Fwd: [New post]  Raised radiation level found
> > inMissouri Snow
> > To: "The  International Radiation Protection (Health Physics)
> > MailingList"  <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> > I don't know the answer to this  offhand, but how does the response of
> > a GM tube change with  temperature?  The reason I ask is that it is
> > currently COLD in  much of the Midwest, and it wouldn't surprise me if
> > things are  different at -20C.
> >  _______________________________________________
> > You are currently  subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
> >
> > Before posting a  message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood
> > the RadSafe  rules. These can be found at:
> >  http://health.phys.iit.edu/radsaferules.html
> >
> > For information  on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings
> > visit:  http://health.phys.iit.edu
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Joseph J. Shonka,  Ph.D.
> Shonka Research Associates, Inc.
> 119 Ridgemore Circle
> Toccoa,  GA 30577
> 770-509-7606
>
> This e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is  intended only for use by the
> addressee(s) named herein and may contain  legally privileged and/or
> confidential information. If you are not the  intended recipient of this
> e-mail, you are hereby notified that any  dissemination, distribution or
> copying of this e-mail, and any attachments  thereto, is strictly
> prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error,  please immediately
> notify Shonka Research Associates, Inc. at (770) 509-7606 and permanently
> delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and  any printout  thereof.
> _______________________________________________
> You are  currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
>
> Before posting a  message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood
> the RadSafe rules.  These can be found at:
> http://health.phys.iit.edu/radsaferules.html
>
> For  information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings
> visit:  http://health.phys.iit.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
>
> Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood
> the RadSafe rules. These can be found at:
> http://health.phys.iit.edu/radsaferules.html
>
> For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings
> visit: http://health.phys.iit.edu
>



-- 
Joseph J. Shonka, Ph.D.
Shonka Research Associates, Inc.
119 Ridgemore Circle
Toccoa, GA 30577
770-509-7606

This e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the
addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or
confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this
e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or
copying of this e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately
notify Shonka Research Associates, Inc. at (770) 509-7606 and permanently
delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and any printout thereof.


More information about the RadSafe mailing list