Re: Radon in urine Part 2

[Wes Van Pelt <VanPeltW@mail.IDT.net>]

Moroney, Roger W wrote:
> snip....... 
> Several respondents inquired as to subtraction of environmental
> background from samples. Yes there was. I have not seen much of a
> problem in the past (which is not all that long) with radon progeny in
> either our gamma spect results or in the background counts. Certainly
> nothing like the recent urine sample. It seemed to me that it was not
> actually from the subject but having a lack of knowledge in this area I
> was not sure. I am running a new background count now (the current one
> is only a few months old). It has been raining a lot, the weather has
> turned cold and the heat is on. I suspect all of these items could cause
> a rise in the radon levels in our lab.
> 
Roger and Fellow Radsafers,

This is indeed an intgeresting problem.

My only comment is on the frequency of Roger's backgrounds. His
statement that the current background is "ONLY" a few months old
indicates very infrequently done backgrounds.

I would recommend as a standard practice that a background be done with
EVERY BATCH of samples.  It need not be a long background.  By comparing
every background with the historical trend, any "glitches' in the
analysis can be spotted before a bias creeps into the data.

Cheers,
Wes
-- 
Wesley R. Van Pelt, Ph.D., CIH, CHP                   KF2LG
President, Van Pelt Assoc., Inc.      vanpeltw@mail.idt.net
Consulting in radiological health and safety.
"TIME, its what keeps everything from happening at once."