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Radon chamber functionality: the impact of ventilation rate measurement on the reliability of radon metrology.

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Τίτλος: Radon chamber functionality: the impact of ventilation rate measurement on the reliability of radon metrology.
Συγγραφείς: Abo-Elmagd M; National Institute of Standard, Ionizing Radiation Metrology Lab., P. O. Box 136 Giza code no. 12211, Egypt. Electronic address: mahmoud.aboelmagd@nis.sci.eg., Kassem FA; National Institute of Standard, Volume and Fluid Flow Metrology Lab., P. O. Box 136 Giza code no. 12211, Egypt. Electronic address: fatma.abdelmordy@nis.sci.eg.
Πηγή: Journal of environmental radioactivity [J Environ Radioact] 2026 Aug; Vol. 298, pp. 108091. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 01.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8508119 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-1700 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0265931X NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Environ Radioact Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Barking, Essex : Elsevier Applied Science Publishers
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Radon*/analysis , Air Pollution, Radioactive*/analysis , Air Pollution, Indoor*/analysis , Radiation Monitoring*/instrumentation , Radiation Monitoring*/methods, Ventilation ; Reproducibility of Results
Περίληψη: Radon is the only naturally occurring radioactive gas. Due to its health risk, there is an increasing interest in measuring radon levels in residential, workplace, outdoor, and laboratory environments. In radon laboratories, radon chambers as a controlled environment are used for calibrating radon sources, measuring instruments, and evaluating radon-related parameters in environmental samples. Accurate radon measurement within radon chambers is frequently compromised by uncontrolled removal processes like ventilation rate (or leakage rate) and back diffusion, which affect the reliability of radon metrology. This study aims to evaluate the performance of a medium-sized radon chamber, with a particular focus on the critical importance of measuring its ventilation rate to enhance the accuracy of measurements and calibration conducted within it. A hybrid methodology was used, combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for modelling ventilation rates with experimental methods, such as the tracer CO2 decay method, active (AB-5), and passive (CR-39) radon techniques. For confined geometries with restricted ventilation pathways, CFD analysis reveals that internal air velocity fields serve as a significant operational driver influencing the effective radon removal parameter. This localized hydrodynamic behaviour exerts a more profound influence on the overall operational loss rates than the structural aperture area alone, meaning that neglecting the potential effects of random factors, such as uncontrolled environmental conditions, could overlook operational variances. A notable difference was observed between the ventilation rate measurements based on tracer CO2 gas decay method and those based on passive and active radon techniques. Applying an average ventilation rate of 0.00635 ± 0.00043 h-1, as determined through active radon technique, effectively corrected measurements within the constructed chamber. Adjusting for ventilation effects improved calibration precision, reducing deviations from reference values to within 2%. These findings highlight the critical importance of incorporating ventilation rate adjustments in calibration and environmental radon measurements to ensure accuracy and reliability in radon metrology.
(Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: CO(2) concentration; Computational fluid dynamics; Radon chambers; Radon metrology; Ventilation rate
Substance Nomenclature: Q74S4N8N1G (Radon)
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260701 Date Completed: 20260828 Latest Revision: 20260828
Update Code: 20260829
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2026.108091
PMID: 42385466
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE
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  Data: Radon chamber functionality: the impact of ventilation rate measurement on the reliability of radon metrology.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Abo-Elmagd+M%22">Abo-Elmagd M</searchLink>; National Institute of Standard, Ionizing Radiation Metrology Lab., P. O. Box 136 Giza code no. 12211, Egypt. Electronic address: mahmoud.aboelmagd@nis.sci.eg.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Kassem+FA%22">Kassem FA</searchLink>; National Institute of Standard, Volume and Fluid Flow Metrology Lab., P. O. Box 136 Giza code no. 12211, Egypt. Electronic address: fatma.abdelmordy@nis.sci.eg.
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  Data: Radon is the only naturally occurring radioactive gas. Due to its health risk, there is an increasing interest in measuring radon levels in residential, workplace, outdoor, and laboratory environments. In radon laboratories, radon chambers as a controlled environment are used for calibrating radon sources, measuring instruments, and evaluating radon-related parameters in environmental samples. Accurate radon measurement within radon chambers is frequently compromised by uncontrolled removal processes like ventilation rate (or leakage rate) and back diffusion, which affect the reliability of radon metrology. This study aims to evaluate the performance of a medium-sized radon chamber, with a particular focus on the critical importance of measuring its ventilation rate to enhance the accuracy of measurements and calibration conducted within it. A hybrid methodology was used, combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for modelling ventilation rates with experimental methods, such as the tracer CO<subscript>2</subscript> decay method, active (AB-5), and passive (CR-39) radon techniques. For confined geometries with restricted ventilation pathways, CFD analysis reveals that internal air velocity fields serve as a significant operational driver influencing the effective radon removal parameter. This localized hydrodynamic behaviour exerts a more profound influence on the overall operational loss rates than the structural aperture area alone, meaning that neglecting the potential effects of random factors, such as uncontrolled environmental conditions, could overlook operational variances. A notable difference was observed between the ventilation rate measurements based on tracer CO<subscript>2</subscript> gas decay method and those based on passive and active radon techniques. Applying an average ventilation rate of 0.00635 ± 0.00043 h<superscript>-1</superscript>, as determined through active radon technique, effectively corrected measurements within the constructed chamber. Adjusting for ventilation effects improved calibration precision, reducing deviations from reference values to within 2%. These findings highlight the critical importance of incorporating ventilation rate adjustments in calibration and environmental radon measurements to ensure accuracy and reliability in radon metrology.<br /> (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
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  Data: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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  Data: <i>Keywords: </i>CO(2) concentration; Computational fluid dynamics; Radon chambers; Radon metrology; Ventilation rate
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  Data: Q74S4N8N1G (Radon)
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        Value: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2026.108091
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        StartPage: 108091
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      – SubjectFull: Ventilation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reproducibility of Results
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      – SubjectFull: Radon analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Air Pollution, Radioactive analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Air Pollution, Indoor analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Radiation Monitoring instrumentation
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      – SubjectFull: Radiation Monitoring methods
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Radon chamber functionality: the impact of ventilation rate measurement on the reliability of radon metrology.
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              Text: 2026 Aug
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