The development of nuclear power has given rise to the need for careful monitoring of the emission of radio nuclides into the surroundings. In the USSR the content of **8**5Kr in the atmospheric layer close to the ground has been regularly determined for the past twenty years. By measuring the volume activity in specimens of technical Kr extracted by industrial air-separating equipment, and knowing the relative content of Kr in dry air, it is possible to calculate the volume activity of **8**5Kr in the atmosphere at normal temperature and pressure and to estimate its global accumulation. To calibrate the gas radiometers for such measurements, standard radioactive mixtures of Kr with **8**5Kr have been developed.