Calibration of a CR-39 plastic track detector for the measurement of radon and its daughters in dwellings

Abstract Solid state nuclear track detectors have been widely used for the measurement of time-integrated radon levels in dwelling under different conditions. The track detector used for this purpose must be calibrated for concentrations of radon and its daughters likely to be found in dwellings. In the present investigations, a CR-39 plastic detector was calibrated bare and in a cup-with-membrane mode, along with a monodispersal aerosol 0.2 μm in size in an exposure chamber, to find the relationship between track density and the radon concentration, as well as potential alpha energy concentration (WL) of radon. The calibration factors of 0.18 tracks cm-2d-1 per (Bq m-3) for radon and 1628 tracks cm-2d-1 per (WL) were obtained. Some preliminary measurements for the concentration of radon and its daughters in different types of rooms in Indian dwellings were also made.