Health physics
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A sample of commercially available, charcoal adsorption type, short-term radon detectors was blind tested under controlled laboratory conditions in order to obtain a "snapshot" of the accuracy and precision of the detectors. The results of the controlled exposures were then compared to a previous field study of the same type of commercially available radon detectors. Radon detectors, purchased from seven different commercial vendors, were exposed to a reference (222)Rn gas concentration at the U. ⋯ Furthermore, the consistent over-reporting or under-reporting trends in the overall results for all three tests suggest a potentially widespread systematic bias for the individual companies that merits further investigation. It is unknown if this one-time "snapshot" represents the overall reliability of commercially available charcoal-based radon detectors. Nonetheless, the findings suggest the need for improved vigilance to assure that the public can rely on commercially available radon detectors to make an informed decision whether or not to perform additional testing or to mitigate.