Re: Radon in LP Gas

["Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT>]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----

Von: Tad Blanchard <Tad.M.Blanchard.1@gsfc.nasa.gov>

An: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>

Datum: Freitag, 20. Juli 2001 22:49

Betreff: Radon in LP Gas





>Hello all,

>

>Someone called me this morning and I couldn't give them an answer to this

question. They wanted to know if there was any significant amounts of Radon

in Liquid Propane Gas. If someone has information on this, please post a

link on the radsafe list.

>

>I seem to recall seeing something about radon in "natural" gas but nothing

about LP gas.





Tad,



As a first information I can tell you the following:



During production of LPG radon, which has a boiling point in the range

of -50 C, is concentrated in the LPG. (Radon always accompanies natural

gas.) Since LPG is usually not used right after production, but stored in

tanks, the radon will decay (half life 3.8 d). Equipment like pumps and the

tanks themselves will be contaminated by the accumulated longlived decay

products like Pb-210 and Po-210. These might pose a radiation hazard by

inhaling them, when for instance pumps are taken apart and cleaned. The

accumulation in tanks should not play a big role by external radiation,

especially because of the shielding effect of steel.



I remember some papers - (one of) the first might have been a paper by

Howard Pritchard.  I do not have them at hand - they are in my office, but

they are of course not available on the web.



If this information is not enough, please contact me and I would look on

Monday into my literature collection.



Best regards,



Franz







************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.