Indoor radon levels in schools of South-East Italy

Radon in indoor air of primary schools: a systematic survey to evaluate factors affecting radon concentration levels and their variability

“…In this study, the average radon concentration in the two 6‐month exposure periods appears (on average) to be nearly equivalent (although the variation for single schools is considerable), similar to the results of the two studies carried out in Pakistan (Rahman and Matiullah Anwar, ; Rahman et al., ), whereas two other studies carried out in Japan (Oikawa et al., ) and in an Italian province (Trevisi et al., ) report higher radon concentrations in winter than in summer. Our results may be related to the specific usage patterns of the schools, which are kept closed during summer vacation (2.5 months), allowing the radon concentration to build up inside.…”

“…The average radon concentration measured in this work is lower than that measured in surveys carried out in other countries such as Italy and Romania (Burghele and Cosma, 2012;Gaidolfi et al, 1998;Giovani et al, 2001;Trevisi et al, 2012), as well as in Greece (Clouvas et al, 2011), where also the percentage of schools with radon concentration exceeding 400 Bq/m 3 is higher than the percentage observed in this study. Conversely, our average concentration is higher than those reported for schools in Ireland (Synnott et al, 2006) even though the percentage of schools with radon concentration higher that 400 Bq/m 3 is quite lower than in Ireland.…”

“…Conversely, our average concentration is higher than those reported for schools in Ireland (Synnott et al., ) even though the percentage of schools with radon concentration higher that 400 Bq/m 3 is quite lower than in Ireland. The percentage of primary schools exceeding 400 Bq/m 3 is quite lower than reported for some Italian regions (Gaidolfi et al., ; Trevisi et al., ; Venoso et al., ) (although there are other Italian regions that have similar values, for example, 0.6% in Tuscany).…”

Radon Concentrations in Schools and Kindergartens in Kragujevac City, Central Serbia

“…The investigations confirming harmful effects of radon and its short‐lived decay products on human health have increased the interest of scientists in measuring indoor concentrations of this naturally occurring radioactive gas. In order to assess and control the exposure of young population, systematic surveys of radon levels in schools and kindergartens have been carried out in many countries all over the world . The scope of these investigations conducted in our country has mainly covered the regions of Southern and Northern Serbia .…”

Intercomparisons Exercises of Radon and Thoron Monitors Provided by Four Laboratories: A Review

“…In many countries surveys of radon levels in different living environments (dwellings, workplaces, hospitals, schools, kindergartens and caves) have been carried out to determine average exposures and to recognize locations where high radon levels occur. [6][7][8][9][10] The radon concentration levels at which remediation action should be taken to reduce the environmental levels are known as the reference or action levels and they differ country by country. For example, in 2007 the WHO reported the reference levels were set in Czech Republic at 400 Bq m -3 for existing dwellings and at 200 Bq m -3 for new dwellings and in Switzerland, the levels were 400 Bq m -3 for existing dwellings and 1,000 Bq m -3 for new ones; in the USA, the levels for both existing and new dwellings were 148 Bq m -3 , but in Germany, the levels for both were only 100 Bq m -3 .…”