In-situ suppression of surface radon emanation using an HDPE barrier at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL)
Abstract
Radon-induced backgrounds remain a limiting factor in low-background experiments conducted in underground laboratories. The enclosed nature of these laboratories can result in elevated radon levels, with emanation from the surrounding rock representing the primary source of radon. In this work, we present an in-situ study of radon emanation from the floor of the main experimental hall at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) and investigate the use of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) barrier to suppress emanation. Surface emanation was measured using an AIRTHINGS Corentium Pro passive detector before and after installation of the barrier. The equilibrium radon concentration within the surface emanation setup was reduced from 5840 ± 50 Bq m −3 to 259 ± 3 Bq m−3, corresponding to a suppression of ∼96%. These results demonstrate the potential to retrofit radon barriers to suppress surface emanation under realistic underground conditions, supporting their use in planned low-background infrastructure at SUPL and future applications at other underground laboratories.
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BibTeX
@misc{gregorio2026insitu,
title = {{In-situ suppression of surface radon emanation using an HDPE barrier at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL)}},
author = {R. R. Marcelo Gregorio and K. Mintern-Lane and S. Rushbrook and A. G. McLean and L. J. Bignell and J. M. C. Brown and G. J. Lane and N. J. C. Spooner},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.30495},
eprint = {2608.30495},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.30495},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - In-situ suppression of surface radon emanation using an HDPE barrier at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL)
AU - R. R. Marcelo Gregorio
AU - K. Mintern-Lane
AU - S. Rushbrook
AU - A. G. McLean
AU - L. J. Bignell
AU - J. M. C. Brown
AU - G. J. Lane
AU - N. J. C. Spooner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/31
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.30495
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.30495
AB - Radon-induced backgrounds remain a limiting factor in low-background experiments conducted in underground laboratories. The enclosed nature of these laboratories can result in elevated radon levels, with emanation from the surrounding rock representing the primary source of radon. In this work, we present an in-situ study of radon emanation from the floor of the main experimental hall at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) and investigate the use of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) barrier to suppress emanation. Surface emanation was measured using an AIRTHINGS Corentium Pro passive detector before and after installation of the barrier. The equilibrium radon concentration within the surface emanation setup was reduced from 5840 ± 50 Bq m ^−3 to 259 ± 3 Bq m^−3, corresponding to a suppression of ∼96%. These results demonstrate the potential to retrofit radon barriers to suppress surface emanation under realistic underground conditions, supporting their use in planned low-background infrastructure at SUPL and future applications at other underground laboratories.
ER -