Meeting new challenges in radon measurements service with solid state alpha track analysis

The national and international radioprotection legislation now covers exposures to the naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) with particular emphasis on radon in workplaces. Consequently, a number of working environments have now been brought into the realm of radiation protection monitoring with a corresponding increase in the demand for radon monitoring services. The new challenges occasioned by the increase in demands are illustrated in this paper together with the radon measurement system developed at the ENEA IRP radon Service. In particular, this paper emphasises how to control using hardware and software analysis, the distributions (diameters and areas) of the track shape, which directly affect the quality of the radon service.