Field comparison of commercially available short-term radon detectors

Details

• Personal Author:
  Field DW ; Field RW ; Majdan M ; Sun K
• Description:
  We performed a comparison of commercially available short-term radon detectors in order to determine the accuracy and precision of the detectors under actual field conditions. We exposed fifteen radon detectors, under field conditions, from each of six companies to a reference radon concentration. Five of the six companies tested did not pass the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's previously established accuracy guideline (all individual relative errors ≤25%) and four of the six companies failed the EPA's precision guideline [coefficient of variation ≤10% at 150 Bq m (4 pCi L)]. The findings suggest that the performances of commercially available radon detectors exposed under actual field conditions may not be as accurate or precise as those detectors available prior to the close of the EPA's National Radon Proficiency Program in 1998. It is unknown if this one-time "snap shot" represents the overall reliability of the accuracy and precision of commercially available radon detectors. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that additional double-blind testing of commercially available radon detectors under actual field conditions is warranted. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environment Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: 222Rn Charcoal Canisters Detectors Environmental-hazards Environmental-protection Environmental-technology Equipment-design Equipment-reliability Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Monitoring-systems Monitors Public Information Radon

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• ISSN:
  0017-9078
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  221-226
• Volume:
  91
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040681
• Citation:
  Health Phys 2006 Sep; 91(3):221-226
• Contact Point Address:
  R. W. Field, College of Public Health, 104 IREH, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
• Email:
  bill-field@uiowa.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Radon (CAS RN 10043-92-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Health Physics
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e1e0452781302e6ba96c4d80726e66054f21b1e1822aa9c1ec934f6f1b911cc8fee4532b642eb04583b4b28db4a3f389462e157cf1025fffe7ace05303bcf591
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193469/cdc_193469_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 263.30 KB ]