The measurement and assessment of 210Po surface activity on glasses in dwellings

The results of measurements of 210Po surface activities on glass in dwellings in a number of European countries and the USA are presented. A description of a new CR-39 based α-track detector configuration and methods of α-track energy identification used in this work are given. While the primary function of the detector was to measure 210Po on surfaces, it was also designed to measure contemporary 222Rn levels and 214Po on surfaces. The results obtained are interpreted using a model which is based on the Jacobi-Porstendorfer room model and on Samuelsson's recursive implementation of the Bateman equations for serially transforming radionuclides applied in conjunction with the implantation model of Cornelis. The ages of the glass investigated ranged from 2 y to 75 y. The dwellings investigated included 10 in the former uranium mining district of Schneeberg, Germany where large variations in indoor 222Rn levels in the recent past decades have taken place.