Starting the TraceRadon project

The DRM-INTE-UPC group will lead the Working Package 2 of the traceRadon project. This project received funding from the EMPIR programme, co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union's Horizon research and innovation programme

Radon gas is the main source of natural radiation exposure to the public and its environmental distribution must be known. It is emitted almost evenly from ice-free land allowing its use as a tracker for quantifying and pin-pointing the sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the Radon Tracer Method (RTM). Improved quantification measurements are required to locate Radon Priority Areas (RPA) and for validating GHG emission models.

The project will develop traceable measurements for low-level atmospheric radon along with a reference-standard radon monitor, with results validated using long-term, field-based inter-comparisons. For the first time, a standard methodology for the RTM will be developed together with a validated, high-resolution radon flux map. RPAs will also be identified which has never been attempted before due to a lack of quality data. The results will support radiation protection measures and GHG emission models, leading to increased safety and a better identification of the sources of damaging pollutants.