Radon diffusion coefficients in 360 waterproof materials of different chemical composition

Abstract

This paper summarises the results of radon diffusion coefficient measurements in 360 common waterproof materials available throughout Europe. The materials were grouped into 26 categories according to their chemical composition. It was found that the diffusion coefficients of materials used for protecting houses against radon vary within eight orders from 10(-15) to 10(-8) m(2) s(-1). The lowest values were obtained for bitumen membranes with an Al carrier film and for ethylene vinyl acetate membranes. The highest radon diffusion coefficient values were discovered for sodium bentonite membranes, rubber membranes made of ethylene propylene diene monomer and polymer cement coatings. The radon diffusion coefficients for waterproofings widely used for protecting houses, i.e. flexible polyvinyl chloride, high-, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene and bitumen membranes, vary in the range from 3 × 10(-12) to 3 × 10(-11) m(2) s(-1). Tests were performed which confirmed that the radon diffusion coefficient is also an effective tool for verifying the air-tightness of joints.

Partition Coefficients and Diffusion Lengths of 222Rn in Some Polymers at Different Temperatures

“…The last four materials are chosen since membranes are made of similar polymers. Such membranes are used for radon/thoron discrimination in some detectors and for radon prevention and mitigation [12].…”

“…The diffusion properties of some polymers are studied in the literature and are quantified by the diffusion coefficient, the permeability, etc. [12,13,14,15]; however, their temperature dependence is rarely mentioned and the obtained values of these parameters vary a lot. A possible reason for these variations could be the different temperatures during the parameters’ estimation.…”

Construction and measurements of an improved vacuum-swing-adsorption radon-mitigation system

“…Further aging makes little difference as the total activity asymptotically approaches the contribution from diffusion, which limits this system. If a lower activity is needed in the future, switching to metal tanks would reduce the contribution from humidification to the order of 10 nBq m −3 , because LDPE has a diffusion coefficient on order of 10 −11 m 2 s −1 while metal is ∼10 −15 m 2 s −1 [16].…”

Radon diffusion and exhalation from mortar modified with fly ash: waste utilization and benefits in construction

“…The determination of diffusion coefficient based on either the steady-state measurement of radon concentration in two containers (source chamber and receiver chamber) separated by test specimen or by simultaneous measurement of time-varying radon concentrations on both sides of the test material in two chambers were studied by many researchers [11][12][13]. The study of radon diffusion coefficient for polymer, plastic and polyesters was carried out by various investigators [14][15][16][17][18][19]. While the study on granite, sandstone, limestone and concrete was done by Keller et al [15], the effect on radon emanation by polymer modified coating on cementitious materials was carried out by Burke et al [16] and reported decrease in emanation rates with reduced porosity.…”

“…A simulation study for emanation through porous media was carried out by Adler & Perrier [18]. The radon diffusion coefficient for 360 waterproofing materials of different chemical composition summarized by Jiranek and Kotrbata [19] may prove a good database for the use of polymers for radon insulation.…”