Accurate measurement of radioactive thoron possible at last

Monday, March 7, 2011 - 12:50 in Earth & Climate

'Many people are now saying: 'Is it really that easy? Then why didn't anyone think of it a long time ago?' But you have to have the right idea at the right time,' says Annette Roettger, physicist at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), in a pleased way. Annette Roettger and her scientific team managed to do something that was previously thought to be impossible: they developed a primary standard for the measurement of short-lived radioactive thoron. Thoron measuring instruments from all over the world will now be calibrated at this unique device which is currently the only one of its kind in the world. This is the basis for accurate measurements of radioactive gas, which occurs naturally in the ground, can collect in living areas and whose progenies are considered carcinogenic...

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