Characterisation of Some Parameters Affecting the Radon Exposure of the Population

Abstract

Few and sporadic measurements are so far available on the characteristics of indoor radon and thoron daughters in typical Mediterranean areas. For this reason, a pilot study is being carried out in Rome, to study the equilibrium factor F and the influence of ventilation rates in realistic domestic environments. Preliminary data show both a significant influence of ventilation on indoor Rn and Tn daughter concentration and a non-negligible contribution of Tn daughters to the annual effective dose of inhabitants.

Radon and Its Short-Lived Products in Indoor Air: Present Status and Perspectives

“…In Belgium, about 10,000 houses were surveyed, and the results showed the highest indoor radon levels on sandstone, quartz-phyllite, psammite, and greywacke; moderate levels on phyllite, mica-sandstone, limestone, chalk, and calc-shale; and lowest levels on sand, clay and marl [147]. Elevated indoor levels of radon and thoron are also expected in buildings on volcanic ground and made of volcanic material, as seen from the studies in Italy and Spain [148][149][150]. Also, in Hungary, the highest indoor radon activity concentrations in 6154 one-storey, no-basement houses were found on Cenozoic volcanic rocks, followed by Paleozoic granites, with the lowest in houses constructed on sedimentary fluvial and partly Aeolian formations [151].…”