Exposure to indoor radon and natural gamma radiation in some workplaces at Algiers, Algeria

Abstract

Radon activity concentrations have been measured in 34 workplaces throughout Algiers nuclear research centre, in Algeria, during some periods between March 2007 and June 2013 using Electret ion chambers, nuclear tracks detectors and an AlphaGuard system. The indoor radon levels range from 2 to 628 Bq m(-3) with an average indoor concentration equals to 92 Bq m(-3), whereas the estimated outdoor radon concentrations range from 2 to 14 Bq m(-3) with an average value of 6 Bq m(-3). This study also focused on parameters affecting radon concentration levels such as floor number, ventilation and atmospheric parameters. Furthermore, the mean gamma rates have been measured in the different investigated locations and have been found to be varying between 33 and 3300 nSv h(-1). The annual effective dose for workers calculated using the appropriate equilibrium and occupancy factors is lower than the value recommended by International Commission on Radiological Protection in its Publication 103.

Indoor radon levels and total gamma dose rates measurements in Portuguese thermal spas

“…In these cases, the explanation for this fact is due to the effective ventilation system inside the thermal establishment (mechanical ventilation system). In most thermal establishments the highest indoor radon concentrations were obtained during the winter period, which is consistent with the literature (Ziane et al, 2014) consulted and other studies developed, in which the indoor radon concentration in autumn/winter is higher than the radon concentration in indoor air in spring/summer. The considerable variability of the radon concentration observed in each thermal establishment is influenced by many factors, namely: rock type, double glazing, window opening habits, building materials used in the walls, type of flooring and draught proofing (Madureira et al, 2016).…”

“…Several studies have been carried out in different countries: Algeria (Ziane et al, 2014), Austria (Bossew et al, 2007), Brazil (Alberigi et al, 2011), China (Song et al, 2011), Croatia (Radolić et al, 2005), Greece (Nikolopoulos et al, 2010), Hungary (Hámori et al, 2006), Serbia (Nikolov et al, 2012), Spain (Ródenas et al, 2008), Poland (Walczac et al, 2016 and Turkey (Tarim et al, 2012) to measure the radon concentration in indoor air and in natural mineral water of thermal spas in order to estimate the doses of natural radiation received by the workers. In the majority of these studies and due to several reasons, radon concentration can reach worrying levels.…”

Radon Levels in Portuguese Thermal Spas

“…Several studies have been conducted worldwide to measure the concentration of radon in the water and in the air of thermal spas in order to estimate the exposure doses both for workers and for users [8,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Recently, a study carried out in thermal spas from Ischia Island showed that the average annual effective dose to workers due to radon exposure (3,52 mSv/y; range 0,01-7,03 mSv/y) was higher than the dose limit imposed by Italian legislation (3 mSv) [16].…”

Semi-empirical modeling of the temporal variation of indoor radon concentration over short periods

“…Therefore, in our model, the dots are connected by a straight line that has the best fit, with passing it through the origin. Lastly, equations (24) and (10) come from averaging the outside radon concentrations over different seasons and relating these to the corresponding indoor radon concentrations [15][16][17]. For a better argument, the parameter a o has to be determined for at most the season during which the concerned indoor radon concentration data were taken.…”

“…That is the temporal change of the indoor radon concentration. Experimental studies in the literature usually monitored the change of radon with time over long periods, on daily, weekly or monthly basis [14][15][16][17]. Theoretical studies on the other hand mostly considered steady-state cases [18][19][20].…”