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Our services are:

Radon Surveys in air

Radon surveys in water

Radon survey in the soil

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Radon survey in air

Generally speaking there are two different on-site tests we can perform:

  • Short term continuous test monitoring
  • Time integration passive test

41-027The short term testing offered by us is the Continuous Radon monitor or CRM test. This test is run for at least  2 days and uses an electronic monitor for gathering it's data. This particular type of monitor takes hourly readings of the data collected and prints out a graph showing the fluctuation of the radon levels throughout the testing duration.  These devices also have tamper reducing capabilities such as tilt indicators, power surge indicators, and tamper tape sealing to testing location so that they can not be moved. 

Advantages to using the Continuous Radon Monitor method:
  •  Portability of most types
  • On-Site availability of results
  • Relative precision of the data produced
  • Ability to track real time variations of radon concentrations
  • Flexibility of measurement intervals
  •  

    Long Term Testing can also be used for determining the radon level in a dwelling.  The most common of this particular type of detector is our RadonAlpha Alpha Track DetectorRadonAlpha detectors consist of a small, alpha-sensitive film, positioned in a container. Alpha track detectors are packaged in an proper bag to prevent exposure during shipping.  After exposure, the detector is removed from the location and sent to us for the analysis. The tracks or damage scars can be then counted by a computer image analyzer. Typically measurements are made for at least 90 days and often up to a year.  These detectors can be easily used both in homes and workplaces.

    Advantages to using Radonalpha:
  • Low cost
  • No need for external power (passive)
  • Convenience
  • Unobtrusiveness
  • Easy to install
  • True Integration
  •  

    Radon Survey in Water

    Radon is a naturally present radioactive noble gas. Its most important isotope is radon-222 which has a half-life of 3.82 days. This isotope is one of the series of elements which derive from the decay of uranium-238 and its presence in the environment is often linked to traces of its nearest relative, radon-226, in rocks and in the ground. As it is an inert gas, it can easily move through porous materials like soil. When pores become full of water, as is the case of rocks and soil below the groundwater layer, radon dissolves in the water and is transported in it. Soil saturated with water which has a porosity of 20% and a radon concentration of 40Bq/kg, the world’s average value for the Earth’s crust, will normally create a concentration level of 50Bq/l in the groundwater. It is possible to measure the radon present in drinking water from both a physical and an engineering point of view. Exposure caused by the presence of radon in water is more or less the same as that of radon inside buildings. Therefore we must apply similar radiological criteria for protection. According to present knowledge, if we consider both the amount swallowed and that inhaled, the actual yearly dose from water containing 1000Bq/l of radon is equivalent to that caused by an indoor concentration level of radon in the air of 200Bq/m˛, the planning level set in the 90/143 Euratrom Recommendation. The European Community’s Recommendation 928/01 suggests that water destined for human consumption should preferably contain concentrations of less than 100Bq/litre and certainly not more than 1000Bq/litre. Our Company is equipped to measure water concentrations using both mobile apparatus for field surveys and fixed apparatus for tests sent for laboratory analysis. Please write to us for further details.

     

    Radon Survey in Soil

    Measurements are carried out by monitoring the level of radon gas in the air in soil by means of a probe inserted into the ground which goes down about 50cm, extracts air from the soil and then conducts it into a measuring chamber (fig 1). The results are then plotted using a contouring technique which produces a map of anomalies which can be laid over a map of the land divided up into plots. In this way we have an indication of the potential risk of the entire area made up of several different measurements. On the basis of these results we can choose the best course of action to contain the risk by creating a correct interface between soil and structure. The risk level is determined according to the indications of the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute which are also those of the British Research Establishment and are as follows:

    SRPI INDICATIONS
    Swedish Radiation Protection Institute
    for concentrations of Radon in the air in soil

    Settlement Area
    Radon Concentration Bq/mc
    Type of Protection
    Very High Concentration
    >50.000
    Full Protection
    High Concentration
    10.000 - 49.999
    Basic Protection
    Normal Concentration
    < 9.999
    No Protection

    A contouring program is used to create a map of risks which is  based on data  from a minimum of  7–10 points per hector.  The results show the lateral variations, as can be seen from the example below.

     

    Geoex s.a.s.
    Via Colli del Vivaro 1
    00040 Rocca di Papa Rome Italy
    Tel: +39.06.94436470 - Fax +39.06.23313306