Radon emanation and exhalation rates from soils measured with an electrostatic collector

The radon emanation and exhalation rates from soil samples were measured using an electrostatic collector coupled to a silicon detector. The radon progenitor activities (226Ra and 232Th) of soil samples were determined using γ-ray spectroscopy with a germanium detector. The radon emanation and exhalation rates have been measured accurately and rapidly. Measurements of soil samples having different physical properties were performed. Data analysis methods were developed to identify the effect of grain size and porosity of soil samples. The results confirm interesting dependencies of emanated radon as a function of two soil parameters.