Radon-thoron monitoring in Tatun volcanic areas of northern Taiwan using LR-115 alpha track detector technique: Pre-calibration and installation

Abstract

In the present study, experiments have been carried out to calibrate LR-115 alpha detector films in bare and cup-mode exposure for the measurement of radon and thoron concentrations in soil gas. Results showed non-uniformity in track formation on the films in bare-mode exposure. However, in cup-mode exposure the non-uniformity was reduced to a greater extent. The calibration factors obtained for radon in bare- and cup-mode exposures are 0.049 and 0.034 tr. cm−2 per Bq m−3 d, respectively. An attempt has been made to calibrate the radon-thoron discriminative cup with LR-115 films for simultaneous measurements of radon and thoron. This paper also presents the preliminary results of radonthoron monitoring in Tatun volcanic areas of northern Taiwan for the first time using radon-thoron discriminators with LR-115 films. The results show that the safe temperature to install the LR-115 films in volcanic areas is ≤ 65°C and thoron concentration in the study area is low.