Transfer of radon-222 from rocks of the Pocos de Caldas plateau to the waters

The analytical procedures developed at the Sector of Unstable Isotopes of the Laboratory of Geochemistry, which belongs to the Department of Petrology and Metallogeny located at the Institute of Geosciences and Exact Sciences - Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP) to measure the release of 222 Rn from rocks to the waters is described. The methodology established was used to evaluate the emanation coefficient of 222 Rn from experiments of water-rock interaction under controlled conditions in the laboratory, which is an important parameter necessary to interpret the radioactivity related to dissolved 222 Rn content in waters. Four typical rocks from Pocos de Caldas Plateau were sampled for the experiments: phonolite, nepheline syenite, pseudoleucite tinguaite and silicified sandstone. The 226 Ra content of these rocks was evaluated by gamma-ray spectrometry using a Nal(TI) scintillation detector, a method that has been currently utilized in nuclear geophysics or isotope geochemistry to measure the equivalent uranium (e U). The 226 Ra content in the studied rocks and the 222 Rn transferred to the waters due to its generation by its 226 Ra progenitor allowed an estimation of the emanation coefficient of 222 Rn. A preliminary investigation on the influence of the mass of the rock in contact with water, of the surface area of the rock in contact with water and of the 226 Ra content in rocks on the amount of 222 Rn released to the water was also performed. (Author)