Assessing the Secular Equilibrium of the Daughter Products of Rn-222

Sabina Bucher

Abstract

When Rn-222, a naturally occurring element of the decay of U-238, decays its daughter products attach themselves to dust particles in the air. Inhaling these particles can expose the lung tissue to large enough doses of radiation to cause lung cancer. Therefore, the behavior of the nuclides on the dust particles is a matter of some interest. In this project, gamma spectroscopy, activity decay analysis and alpha detection are all used to look at comparative levels of daughters of Rn-222. The data collected is then used to asses the validity of the assumption that secular equilibrium is maintained in the daughters of Rn-222.