The weather dependence of particle size distribution of indoor radioactive aerosol associated with radon decay products

This study was performed to measure the activity size distribution of aerosol particles associated with short-lived radon decay products in indoor air at Nagoya Univ., Nagoya (Japan). The measurements were performed using a low pressure Andersen cascade impactor under variable meteorological conditions. The results showed that the greatest activity fraction was associated with aerosol particles in the accumulation size range (100-1000 nm) with a small fraction of nucleation mode (10-100 nm). Regarding the influence of the weather conditions, the decrease in the number of accumulation particles was observed clearly after rainfall without significant change in nucleation particles, which may be due to a washout process for the large particles. (authors)