Basement Car Parks A Domicile of Radon Pollution Validated By Discomfort Index

Abstract

Abstract-Investigation in the public basement car parks from six Governorates of Kuwait showed the influence of radon concentrations and the probable discomfort caused while parking their cars. Radon concentrations in the public semi-closed car parks distributed in the six Governorate sites were analyzed using Rad7 (Durridge, USA).The peak concentration of radon from the six Kuwait Governorate car parks was relatively higher during the winter season (63.15Bq/m 3 ) than during the summer season (41.73Bq/m 3 ).This validated the influence of relative humidity and temperature, the components of discomfort index (DI). The mean annual absorbed dose rate radon (D Rn ) and annual effective dose (H E ) was observed high when the assessment included the car parks and the surrounding residential apartment and office premises. The D Rn (0.02mSv/y) and H E 0.06mSv/y) of radon in the car parks alone indicated radon concentrations below the permissible limits. Statistical assessment indicated the significant differences between the dependence of indoor radon concentrations on the timeseries, temporal and spatial distribution in the six Kuwait Governorate car parks. Hence, the need to ameliorate the radon concentrations in the indoor environment becomes indispensable in the near future.