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Radon exhalation rates from stone and soil samples of Aravali hills in India
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R.P. Chauhan   |
| , chauhanrpc@gmail.com |
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Abstract: (14178 Views) |
| Background: The most popular building
materials are soil bricks and different types of stones.
Radon is released into ambient air from soil and
stones due to ubiquitous uranium and radium in
them, thus increasing the airborne radon concentration.
The radioactivity in soils is related to radioactivity
in the rocks from which the soil is formed. In the
present investigation, the radon emanated from soil
and stone samples collected from different locations
of Aravali range of hills in the Haryana state of
Northern India has been estimated. Materials and
Methods: For the measurement of radon concentration
emanated from these samples, alpha-sensitive
LR-115 type II plastic track detectors have been
used. The alpha particles emitted from the radon
form tracks in these detectors. After chemical etching
the track density of registered tracks is used to
calculate radon concentration and exhalation rates of
radon using required formulae. Results: The radon
concentration in stone samples collected from Aravali
range of hills varied from 729 Bq m-3 to 1958 Bq m-3
with an average of 1440 ± 134 Bq m-3 whereas it
varied from 806 Bq m-3 to 1325 Bq m-3 with an
average of 1040 ± 101 Bq m-3 in case of soil
samples. Based upon the data, the mass and the
surface exhalation rates of radon emanated from
them have also been calculated. Conclusion: The
measurements indicate normal to some higher levels
of radon concentration emanated from the samples
collected from Aravali range of hills of north India.
Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2011 9(1): 57-61 |
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| Keywords: Radioactivity, radon concentration, nuclear tracks, exhalation rates, stone, soil. |
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Full-Text [PDF 227 kb]
(3400 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Original Research |
Subject:
Radiation Biology
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