Measurements of radon concentration and gamma ray activity in Hall B of the Gran Sasso Laboratory

Bassignani, A.; Bam, B. B.; Colombo, G.; Fantoni, Roberto; Giacomelli, G.; Mascoli, M.; Fracchetta, V.; Patrizii, L.; Sartorio, Camillo

doi:10.1016/s1350-4487(97)00151-0

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The tunnels and rooms of the LNGS facility are lined with concrete walls (60 cm thick), serving as a shield for the laboratory from mechanical, hydrological and environmental radiation [22]. Radon measurements in experiment halls with concrete lining are in the range of 20-150 kBq m −3 , depending on the ventilation regime [23].…”

Section: Experimental Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of a component of solar irradiance on radon signals at 1 km depth, Gran Sasso, Italy

2013

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Exploratory monitoring of radon is conducted at one location in the deep underground Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS). Measurements (15-min resolution) are performed over a time span of ca 600 days in the air of the surrounding calcareous country rock. Using both α - and γ -ray detectors, systematic and recurring radon signals are recorded. Two primary signal types are determined: (i) non-periodic multi-day (MD) signals lasting 2–10 days and (ii) daily radon (DR) signals—which are of a periodic nature exhibiting a primary 24-h cycle ( θ =0.48). The local ancillary environmental conditions (pressure, temperature) seem not to affect radon in air monitored at the site. Long-term patterns of daytime measurements are different from the pattern of night-time measurements indicating a day–night modulation of γ -radiation from radon in air. The phenomenology of the MD and DR signals is similar to situations encountered at other locations where radon is monitored with a high time resolution in geogas at upper crustal levels. In accordance with recent field and experimental results, it is suggested that a component of solar irradiance is affecting the radiation from radon in air, and this influence is further modulated by the diurnal rotation of the Earth. The occurrence of these radon signals in the 1 km deep low-radiation underground geological environment of LNGS provides new information on the time variation of the local radiation environment. The observations and results place the LNGS facility as a high-priority location for performing advanced investigations of these geophysical phenomena.

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Section: Experimental Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of a component of solar irradiance on radon signals at 1 km depth, Gran Sasso, Italy

2013

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“…The possible contribution of some modulation of some tiny 222 Rn activity to the expected signal in ANAIS-112 is negligible because if we would take the above upper limit of 0.06 Bq m −3 as a true 222 Rn concentration with a modulation amplitude ∼ 10%, similar to the one observed in the Hall B (Table 4), its contribution to the ANAIS-112 modulation signal would be 4 × 10 −5 counts keV −1 kg −1 d −1 in the region [1][2][3][4][5][6] keV, much below the modulation observed by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration [47] and the sensitivity of ANAIS-112 experiment [53].…”

Section: Upper Limit To 222 Rn Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…There exist different features of the 222 Rn concentration in different laboratories. For instance, the annual periodicity has not been observed in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) [40], which is connected to a road tunnel in Italy, under the Gran Sasso mountain. On the contrary, the periodicity has been observed in the Soudan Underground Laboratory (SUL) [41], located in an old iron mine in Minnesota, with the maximum in summer and the minimum in winter, as we report in LSC.…”

Section: Seasonal Periodicity Of the 222 Rn Concentration And Of The ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This value is one order of magnitude better than our previous estimate based on the NaI(Tl) spectrometry data and it is not affected by the systematic uncertainty of f m because the dominant one is statistical. According to the ANAIS-112 background model [48], this upper limit means that the contribution of the 222 Rn to the total rate is < 4 × 10 −4 counts keV −1 kg −1 d −1 in the region of interest, [1][2][3][4][5][6] keV, amounting to less than 0.01% of the background [12].…”

Section: Upper Limit To 222 Rn Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Monitoring the level of 222 Rn in laboratories of low activity measurements and, in particular, in underground laboratories is essential to ensure the safety of the workers inside the laboratory. The main remediation action is a correct ventilation [1][2][3][4] to evacuate the radon emanation from the rock and to keep a concentration similar to that of the open air, that usually is < 100 Bq m −3 [5]. The posterior actions to provide a very low radioactive background to the experia e-mail: puimedon@unizar.es ments in the laboratory depend on their requirements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long term measurement of the $^{222}$Rn concentration in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory

Amaré¹,

I.²,

Blancas³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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We report the results of six years (2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018) of measurements of 222 Rn air concentration, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and temperature in the halls A, B and C of the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC). We have calculated all the Pearson correlation coefficients among these parameters and we have found a positive correlation between the 222 Rn concentration and the relative humidity. Both correlated variables show a seasonal periodicity. The joint analysis of laboratory data and four years (2015-2018) of the meteorological variables outside the laboratory shows the correlation between the 222 Rn concentration and the outside temperature. The collected information stresses the relevance of designing good Rn-mitigation strategies in current and future experiments at LSC; in particular, we have checked for two years (2017-2018) the good performance of the mitigation procedure of the ANAIS-112 experiment. Finally, in another measurement (2019 for two years of live time, we report an upper limit to the residual 222 Rn content of the radon-free air provided by the radon abatement system installed in the laboratory.

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The CR-39 etching optimization and measurement for radon in China Jinping Underground Laboratory

Liu

Zeng

et al. 2018

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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Measurements of radon concentration and gamma ray activity in Hall B of the Gran Sasso Laboratory

Cited by 8 publications

References 1 publication

Influence of a component of solar irradiance on radon signals at 1 km depth, Gran Sasso, Italy

Influence of a component of solar irradiance on radon signals at 1 km depth, Gran Sasso, Italy

Long term measurement of the $^{222}$Rn concentration in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory

The CR-39 etching optimization and measurement for radon in China Jinping Underground Laboratory

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