Background: Radon is an odourless, colourless
and tasteless gas and it is the first cause of lung
cancer among non- smokers. The assessment of the
level of radium in building materials helps in understanding
the radiological implications. It has been
observed that everyone has some levels of exposure
to them. Therefore measurement of radium and
radon in the soil samples are important from public
health point of view. Materials and Methods: In the
present work, radon exhalation rate and radium from
soil samples have been measured through “Sealed
Can technique” using LR-115 type II plastic track
detector. Twenty two samples were collected from
industrial area of Bulandshahr, Hapur and Meerut
districts of Uttar Pradesh (India). Results: The radium
concentration ranges from 9.2 to 18.7 Bqkg-1 with an
average value of 14.1 Bqkg-1. The area exhalation
rate for radon ranges from 394.1 to 798.3 mBqm-2 h-
1 with an average value of 600.7 mBqm-2 h-1 and
mass exhalation rate ranges from 15.1 to 30.7
mBqkg-1h-1 with an average value of 23.1 mBqkg-1h-1.
A strong correlation coefficient has been observed
between radium concentration and radon exhalation
rate. Conclusion: The values of radium concentration
in all the soil samples were found to be lower than
the limit 370 Bqkg-1 as recommended by OECD,
1979. Hence, there is no matter of concern to the
population living in this region. Iran. J. Radiat. Res.,
2012 10(2): 83‐87
Zubair M, Shakir Khan M, Verma D. Measurement of radium concentration and radon exhalation rates of soil samples collected from some areas of Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, India using plastic track detectors. Int J Radiat Res 2012; 10 (2) :83-87 URL: http://ijrr.com/article-1-939-en.html