Experience with alpha track detectors

The heightened awareness of radon hazards have resulted in an increase in the use of alpha track detectors. Field and laboratory tests have been conducted over sufficiently long periods of time by enough different laboratories so that characteristics of these detectors are better understood. The paper compares common experiences of Terradex Radtrak and Type SF detectors. Both detectors employ the plastic nuclear track detector material CR-39 as the alpha particles that impinge upon its surface. The alpha particles create trails of permanent ionization damage that can later be made visible microscopically by a chemical etching process. Until recently, the processing track analysis methods have been different for the Radtrak and Type SF detectors