Identifying Sources of Background Radiation From Everyday Items

Year
2024
Author(s)
Thrisha mae Lumor - Chemistry Department, Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York
Pedrocia De-Sosoo - Chemistry Department, Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York
John Aloi - Radiological Control Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Paul Sideris - Chemistry Department, Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York
Sharon Lall-Ramnarine - Chemistry Department, Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York
Abstract

Background radiation is a natural and constant source of ionizing radiation emitted from our environment, including a variety of objects commonly found in our homes. In this project, a handheld survey meter was used to measure the amount of radiation, in counts per minute, from several commercial products. Among these were: sodium-free salt, fertilizer, bananas, sidewalk salt, Vaseline glass, wristwatches, a smoke detector, thoriated welding rods, and gas lantern mantles. For select objects with relatively high radiation counts, a Teledyne Flir Identifinder 2 was used to identify the radioisotope. The Identifinder confirmed the presence of U-238, Th-232, and Am-241 in the Vaseline glass, lantern mantle, and smoke detector respectively. This project is based upon work supported by the NNSA Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program under Award No. NA0004162. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DOE, NNSA, or the U.S. Government.