Exposure of burrowing mammals to Rn-222 (United Kingdom)

Exposure of burrowing mammals to Rn-222 (United Kingdom)

 

 

AbstractThis dataset includes individual passive detector measurements of 222Rn in the air of artificial burrows, 222Rn measurements by instrumentation in soil gas of interstitial soil pores and burrow air, gamma analyses results for soil samples and, soil moisture and temperature data.
Estimates of absorbed dose rates to wildlife from exposure to natural background radionuclides are required to put estimates of dose rates arising from regulated releases of radioactivity and proposed benchmarks into context. These data are from a study conducted at seven sites in northwest England (comprising broadleaved and coniferous woodlands, scrubland and pastures). Passive track etch detectors were used to measure the 222Rn concentrations in artificial burrows over a period of approximately one year (July 2009 to June 2010). Instrumented measurements of burrow air and soil pore gas were also conducted in October 2009.
The data result from a study funded by NERC-CEH and the England & Wales Environment Agency.
STAR partnerNERC-CEH
Type of dataField study
Sample number10-100
QualityMethodologies for 222Rn measurements are described in Beresford N.A. et al. (2012). Soil samples were taken to a depth of 50 cm from adjacent to each burrow at the end of the study for subsequent gamma-analyses. Samples we dried at 80°C, homogenised and weighed into c. 950 ml plastic containers. The containers were sealed and left for 25 d to allow secular equilibrium to be reached. The samples were subsequently counted on hyper-pure Ge-detectors for 4 d. The resultant spectra were analysed using the Canberra Apex-Gamma software package. The detectors are calibrated using certified standards, containing mixtures of gamma-emitting radionuclides, which are mixed into matrix of different densities. Methodology UKAS accredited. See http://bit.ly/1bcfir8 for the Radon Dose Calculator spreadsheet used in this work.
Spatially referencedYes
Ecosystem typeTerrestrial
Sample typeSoil; Estimates of burrow air 222Rn activity concentrations
Date2008-2010
LanguagesEnglish
StatusCompleted study
Obtain data

Freely available from the CEH Information Gateway: http://dx.doi.org/10.5285/2641515F-5B76-445C-A936-1DA51BF365AD

Key reference sources
  • Beresford, N.A., Barnett, C.L., Vives i Batlle, J., Potter, E.D., Ibrahimi, Z.-F., Barlow, T.S., Schieb, C., Jones, D.G., Copplestone, D. 2012. Exposure of burrowing mammals to 222Rn. Science of the Total Environment. 431, 252-261.
  • Beresford, N.A., Barnett, C.L., Vives i Batlle, J.,Ibrahimi, Z-F., Barlow, T.S., Schieb, C., Jones, D.G., Copplestone, D. 2012. Exposure of Burrowing Mammals to 222Rn in Northwest England. NERC-Environmental Information Data Centre. http://dx.doi.org/10.5285/2641515F-5B76-445C-A936-1DA51BF365AD
Data ownershipNERC-CEH
Database formatcsv
Figure information1) Monitor burrow air gas; 2) Passive detector; 3) Artificial burrow just after being established (Photographs: Cath Barnett, NERC-CEH)
Keywords

united_kingdom , natural_radionuclides , infoex

 

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