Concentration of Radon in Dwellings of Hemavathi River Basin, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Indoor radon, thoron and their progeny levels were measured in various types of dwellings during 2016-17 in Hemavathi river basin, Karnataka by using solid state nuclear track detector based pin-hole dosemeters; dwellings of various types were chosen for the measurement. The dosemeters containing the detector (LR-115, Type II Film) was used for this purpose. The concentration of indoor radon in the study area varied from 30.72 to 196.08 Bq m-3 with a median of 83.13 Bq m-3 and thoron concentration varied from 15.56 to 227.78 Bq m-3. Higher concentrations of radon and its progeny were observed in granite flooring and cement roofing dwellings compared to other types of dwellings. The reason for higher concentration of indoor radon and its progeny is due to activity of radium present in granite and provision of less ventilation in dwellings. The equilibrium equivalent radon, thoron concentrations and annual effective dose are discussed.

Assessment of indoor radon activity concentration levels in four northern districts of Telangana state, India

“…The geometric mean of radon concentration is found to be 88 Bq m −3 (GSD 2.04) and varied from 17 to 335 Bq m −3 in winter season, whereas in the rainy and summer seasons, the geometric mean of radon activity was found to be 60 Bq m −3 (GSD 1.81) and 46 Bq m −3 (GSD 2.86) respectively. The radon seasonal profile in the dwellings of the study area is in line with earlier reports [29][30][31].…”

Radon study around earthquake affected areas of Nepal

“…It is observed that radon concentrations in Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk were comparatively higher than those of Kathmandu valley. The variation in radon concentrations might be due to difference in topography of locations, ventilation systems and building materials used in the dwellings [9,10]. The permissible limit for radon concentration is 300 Bq/m 3 [18] and in this study only two of the measurements, 397±71 Bq/m 3 (Sindhupalchowk) and 363±65 Bq/m 3 (Gorkha), were observed above the limit.…”

“…Gorkha district, Kathmandu valley and Sindhupalchowk district were the most affected by this earthquake. The cracks and fissures developed on soil due to earthquake or landslides are supposed to enhance radon exhalation from soil [9][10][11][12]. As Nepal is prone to earthquake, the assessment of radon concentration has become necessary as a baseline study for future investigation.…”