Long-Term Impacts of Weather Conditions on Indoor Radon Concentration Measurements in Switzerland

Abstract

Radon is a natural and radioactive gas that can accumulate in indoor environments. Indoor radon concentration (IRC) is influenced, among other factors, by meteorology, which is the subject of this paper. Weather parameters impact indoor radon levels and have already been investigated, but rarely in Switzerland. Moreover, there is a strong need for a better understanding of the radon behaviour inside buildings in Switzerland for public health concerns as Switzerland is a radon prone area. Based on long-term, continuous, and hourly radon measurements, radon distributions classified according to different weather event definitions were investigated and then compared at three different study sites in Western Switzerland. Outdoor temperature influences the most indoor radon, and it is globally anti-correlated. Wind influences indoor radon, but it strongly depends on intensity, direction, and building characteristics. Precipitation influences periodically indoor radon levels relatively to their intensity. Atmospheric pressure and relative humidity do not seem to be huge determinants on IRC. Our results are in line with previous findings and provide a vivid example in Western Switzerland. This paper underlines the different influence complexities of radon, and the need to communicate about it within the broader public and with construction professionals, to raise awareness.

High Indoor Radon Case Study: Influence of Meteorological Parameters and Indication of Radon Prone Area

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Radon levels and indoor air quality after application of thermal retrofit measures—a case study

“…Some contradictory results can be found in literature regarding this issue. According to Rey et al ( 2022 ), temperature influences are anti-correlated with indoor radon. One-year study conducted by Xie et al ( 2015 ) also found a negative correlation between indoor radon and outdoor temperature (correlation coefficient R = − 0.3), but a later study (Xie et al 2017 ) based on 3-month measurement, reported a positive correlation between these two variables.…”

Radon Dynamics and Effective Dose Estimation in a Touristic Volcanic Cave: La Cueva del Viento, Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

“…The main factors favoring the accumulation of radon in underground environments are: (a) geochemical composition of the soils and the bedrock (Smit & Bezuidenhout, 2021 ), (b) the leaching of radioactive elements from the host rock to the interior of the cavity by the action of meteoric waters (Wang et al., 2019 ), (c) the reduced exchange of air with the outside atmosphere (Dumitru et al., 2015 ), (d) the ratio between underground and external air densities (Wang et al., 2019 ), (e) soil humidity variations and condensation phenomena which cause the isolation of the underground cavities (Cuezva et al., 2011 ; Nazaroff, 1992 ), (f) pluviometry (Rey et al., 2022 ), etc. The last three ones are highly related to environmental parameters such as internal (i.e., cave) and external air temperatures, atmospheric pressure, wind speed (WS), and precipitations (Asher‐Bolinder et al., 1991 ; Mentes & Eper‐Pápai, 2015 ).…”