Radon progeny in indoor air present a greater radiological health hazard to the greatest population than any other radiation source. The objective is to develop a very low-cost, featherweight, mailable alpha particle dosimeter medium that can be deployed by the general population at any site. The proposed medium is a thin material which maintains trapped electrons at alpha particle impact sites for extremely long times, but will scintillate visible light when illuminated by near-infrared (common GaAs LED's, etc.). The proposed effort would generate and quantify the performance of experimental samples of Quantex's unique electron trapping (ET) materials in appropriate alpha-transmissive thin-film envelopes to demonstrate feasibility. Sample fabrication experiments will explore the optimum ET material composition for alpha particle selectivity, photomultiplier and infrared LED configurations, and """"""""erasing"""""""" requirements. Initial cost analysis and amenability to mass manufacturing will be studied and summarized. The proposed approach would revolutionize radon progeny site sampling, and require only relatively inexpensive apparatus at central counting stations. Commercial application would be widespread for dwellings and offices, and could also be very significant for mining personnel.
