Mr
Description
Since 222Rn is not a gamma emitter, the activity of 226Ra in BqL-1 was used to determine 222Rn's activity. Equation 1 was used to calculate the activity of 222Rn. A_(〖222〗_Rn ) = A_(〖226〗_Ra ) [1-e^(-(λ_(〖222〗_Rn ) ) T_d ) ] (Equation 1) The decay time duration between sample collection and sample counting (T_d) was in the range of 5.0×106 ≤ T_d ≤ 9.0×106 with a factor of 106 seconds. In Equation 1 the term e^(-(λ_(〖222〗_Rn ) ) T_d ) simplified to zero and the activity of 222Rn was found to be equal to the activity of 226Ra i.e.
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A Gamma Ray Spectrometer was used to quantify 222Rn activity in 27 water samples from Nchanga Under Ground Mine on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. The content of 222Rn in water ranged from 100 to 3,710 Bq/m3 with an average of 1,077.59 ± 0.73 Bq/m3. The calculated radon concentration was compared to the underground mining industry's 500 Bq/m3 action limit. According to statistics, over 82 percent of tested locations exceeded the action limit, while only 41 percent exceeded the agreed limit of 1,000 Bq/m3.