Radon concentration in houses over a closed Hungarian uranium mine

Soil and building material as main sources of indoor radon in Băiţa-Ştei radon prone area (Romania)

“…radon exhalation) depends on the emanation factor of 222 Rn atoms from the sample (i.e. from the mineral grains), on the 226 Ra (radium) content of the sample, on the moisture content, (Nazaroff and Nero, 1988;Cosma et al, 2001) and also from the grain size of the samples, which is well described in Morawska and Phillips (1993) and Breitner et al, 2010. Consistent with our results, several studies have carried out regarding the soil and indoor radon measurements in areas of former uranium mines and have pointed out a significant association between the uranium content of soil and high indoor radon concentration (Somlai et al, 2006;Abdallah and Khalid, 2008;Khan and Puranik, 2011). The annual average indoor radon concentration for all our measurements (the both two groups) of 345 Bq m À3 is similar to value found in a Hungarian uranium mine area (Somlai et al, 2006) of about 400 Bq m À3 and higher than those of 100 Bq m À3 reported for an Indian uranium mining area (Khan and Puranik, 2011).…”

“…The approach of indoor radon studies in connection with radon gas from soil and building material are due to presence of such factors linked to the underlying geological formations and building structure, which could lead to increased levels of radon inside houses (Barros-Dios et al, 2007). Several studies have performed radiological measurements in areas with a former uranium mine and have revealed a significant association between the uranium content of soil and high indoor radon concentration (Singh et al, 2002;Somlai et al, 2006;Barros-Dios et al, 2007). Although, radon from soil and rocks and from the basement of the buildings represents the main radon sources.…”

Radon in Air and Water

“…Outdoors, radon normally disperses in the air whereas in confined spaces such as buildings, mines, and caves (Gillmore et al, 2001;Gillmore et al, 2002;Gillmore et al, 2000) it may accumulate. Higher radon (average 480 Bq m -3 ) was found in houses located ±150m from the surface projection of a closed uranium mine tunnel in Hungary compared with houses located further away (average 291 Bq m -3 (Somlai et al, 2006). Radon is thought to migrate though fissures that intersect the mine tunnel and run up to the surface.…”

Lung Cancer and Environmental Chemical Exposure: A Review of Our Current State of Knowledge With Reference to the Role of Hormones and Hormone Receptors as an Increased Risk Factor for Developing Lung Cancer in Man

“…Levels of indoor radon can be increased in cases of (a) naturally high radon background levels owing to the soil composition; (b) technologically increased levels as result of surface mining which caused exposure of layers with higher radon levels previously covered by soil layers with low radon levels; and (c) exposure from radon soil exhalation in newly built energy saving dwellings, in which airtight windows were used so as to reduce heating loss (Almgren, Isaksson, and Barregard 2008;Au et al 1995;Bossew and Lettner 2007;Lavi, Steiner, and Alfassi 2009;Malanca et al 1992;Somlai et al 2006;Tung 2004). Exposure can also occur via drinking bottled water, including soft drinks, and in food prepared with contaminated water (Janssen 2003).…”