Owing to the high potential of radon to increase the risk of lung cancer, health organizations are enforced to update their regulations and recommendations regarding indoor radon levels each year. In this study, the indoor radon concentrations of three randomly selected thermal baths in Hungary using CR-39 and an AlphaGUARD radon monitor were measured with regard to the new updated standards of the European Basic Safety Standard (EU BSS, Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, 2014). The annual average of indoor radon concentrations in Parad Medical Bath, Igal Health Spa and Eger Turkish Bath were measured as 159 ± 19, 176 ± 27 and 301 ± 30 Bq/m3, respectively. Indoor radon concentration in all measurement locations were determined to be below the reference level, with the exception of the main pool, small pool and sparkling bath areas in the Eger Turkish Bath that were measured as 403 ± 42, 315 ± 32 and 354 ± 36 Bq/m3, respectively. In light of the results, the estimated annual average radon concentration in the thermal baths was below the EU BSS reference level of 300 Bq/m3. Personal dosimetry is required to estimate the annual effective dose from inhaled radon by the workers at the Eger Turkish Bath. This procedure is required in order to justify the application of the mitigation process of decreasing working hours, improving the ventilation rate or increasing the number of classified employees in response to the official radiation surveillance programme.
The measurements of radon activity concentration carried out in residential houses of V4 countries (Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) show that radon levels in these countries considerably exceed the world average. Therefore, the new radon data and statistical analysis are required from these four countries. Each partner chose a region in their own country, where radon concentration in residential buildings was expected to be higher. The results of the survey carried out in the period from March 2012 to May 2012 show that radon concentrations are <200 Bq m(-3) in ∼87% of cases. However, dwellings with radon concentration ∼800 Bq m(-3) were found in Poland and Slovakia. It was also found that the distribution of radon frequency follows that of houses according to the year of their construction.
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