Terradex, Inc.

H Ward Alter

Fred F Holub

Richard A Oswald

A compact low cost track registration detector for radon gas and radon daughter products includes a housing with a removable closure cap for retaining a strip of track registration material having the property of forming damage tracks along paths traversed by alpha particles. The strip is retained within the housing by integrally formed upstanding ribs located closely adjacent diametrically opposite inner side wall portions of the housing, a first set of ribs forming a pedestal support and second set of longer ribs providing transverse support. A microporous filter impervious to particles and radon daughter products admits only radon gas to the interior of the housing. The apertured closure cap has a central solid portion providing a radiation shield for the upper surface of the strip to enable the lower exposure surface to be readily distinguished after the detector has been retrieved from an exposure site. The housing is fabricated from a pure polyethylene material free from any residual alpha particle radiation. A flexible strip wrapped about the exterior of the housing affords both a hanging strap and an information sheet for user entry of exposure information.

Compact detector for radon and radon daughter products

Compact radon detector unit

A low cost disposable radiation detector of the track registration material type having a substrate layer with a strip of the track registration material removably attached thereto. The track registration material is removably attached to the substrate by a top layer having an aperture formed therein and at least one tab portion adjacent the aperture and bendable out of the top layer to overlap a portion of the strip of track registration material for retaining the strip in the aperture.

Low cost disposable radiation detecting apparatus

A method and apparatus for collecting gas samples associated with underground minerals. A plurality of small gas sample containers are planted in an inverted position in shallow holes in the surface of the earth in a predetermined pattern, and upwardly migrating gases associated with the underground minerals being sought are collected in the containers for a predetermined time period, to obtain a time-integrated representation of the amount of one or more gases of interest migrating to the surface over that time period. Two types of containers are alternately employed: A total gas sample container in which all upwardly migrating gases are admitted into a sealed compartment at a preselected flow rate; and a specific gas sampler container in which strips of detector material which are sensitive to predetermined specific gaseous substances are mounted within the inverted container and exposed to the upwardly migrating gases over the predetermined time interval. The containers are removed from the shallow holes after the lapse of the predetermined time interval, and the detector material alone, or the containers with the detector material still mounted, are subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The gas collection period is maintained substantially constant for all containers.

Method and apparatus for underground deposit detection

A plurality of gas sample collecting containers are distributed in a predetermined pattern from a vehicle. The containers are cup shaped but weighted so that the open end sinks first and engages the subaqueous earth laer. Gas migrating upwardly through the earth is caught by the inverted cup. The gas sample may be either collected in a separate container or exposed to a detector material located above the expected water level. The sample collecting containers may be retrieved by means of marker floats, magnetic grappling devices or self actuated flotation devices.

Growing community of inventors

Danville, CA, United States of America

H Ward Alter