Measurements of Environmental Radon Activity Concentration Outdoors in Bosnia and Hercegovina

Abstract

Radon is a unique natural element because it is an inert gas and at the same time radioactive in all of its isotopes. It is known fact that exposure of the population to high concentrations of radon gas, leads to irradiation of primarily respiratory organs, which can cause lung cancer. For reliable prospecting of radon activity concentration in the living environment, the first input parameter is the concentration of outdoor radon in the air. This paper presents the results of a three-year research of radon activity concentration in the air of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the measurement locations were registered daily and seasonal variations of the outdoor radon concentrations, whose average values were in the range of 15-38 Bq/m 3 . They were measured with Alpha GUARD PQ 2000 radon portable measuring system (Genitron Instruments -Frankfurt).

Radon Sources and Action Levels

“…The average outdoor radon level is usually low, less than 100 Bq/m 3 and does not represent a risk to the population because it gets diluted. Outdoor radon activity concentration in B&H was measured at 92 locations and mean activity concentrations were in range of 15 to 38 Bq/m 3 [31]. Elevated activity concentrations in some areas were conditioned by the technological processing of coal and raw material.…”