The influence of chemical etching time on efficiency of radon detection using CR-39

Natural radiation is the principal source of human exposure to ionizing radiation. Radon is noble radioactive gas that emanates from the soil and rocks entering the atmosphere of dwellings where it could be accumulated. The inhalation of ²²²Rn represents a significant health risk. Solid-State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTD) represents an efficient method for alpha particle detection and measurements of the activity concentration of ²²²Rn. The aim of present work was to study the etching time impact on CR-39 efficiency in radon activity measurements. The investigation was performed using 80 CR-39 detectors, which were exposed to a source of radon. After the exposition, alpha particle tracks development was achieved by chemical etching using 6.25M NaOH solution and ethanol (2%) at 70°C. Etching alpha particle tracks were identified and counted manually using the optical microscope with magnification of 100x and glass overlay mask. The etching time ranged from 7 to 14 hours. The results show that there is an increase in the number of visible tracks with increased etching time. The number of traces obtained for 7 hours and 8 hours of revelation was 1430 +/- 90 and 2090 +/- 160, respectively. However, for etching time of 13 and 14 hours was not observed statistical increase in the number of visible tracks. The number of tracks in this situation was 3630 +/- 180 and 3870 +/- 160 to 13 and 14 hours etching. Thus, for assumed etching parameters, the etching optimal time was observed 14 hours. (author)