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A study on radon and thoron progeny levels in dwellings in South India
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R. Sivakumar   |
| , rr.rskumar@gmail.com |
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Abstract: (14029 Views) |
| Background: Decay products of radon and
thoron present in indoor environment are the most
important sources of radiation from natural sources
which affect human beings, since general public
spend at lest 80% of their time in indoor. Materials
and Methods: Air samples were collected for
measuring the concentration of radon and thoron
daughter products from various indoor environments
during four different seasons of the year from the
Gudalore taluk of Nilgiri Biosphere using high volume air
sampler. The concentration of decay products of radon
and thoron were estimated using an alpha counter.
Results: Studies have revealed that the annual average
potential alpha energy concentrations of radon and
thoron progeny in dwellings of Gudalore were recorded as
3.54 and 2.65 mWL respectively. It was also observed
that the potential alpha energy concentration (PAEC)
values for radon progeny undergo dramatic change with
the change of season perhaps due to different aerosol
contents in the air. The maximum 222Rn (3.93 mWL) and
220Rn (3.10 mWL) progeny concentrations were observed
during winter months and the minimum values (222Rn
3.14 mWL and 220Rn 2.20 mWL) were observed
during summer. Conclusion: Studies have shown that
the dwelling with mud wall registered high value of
radon and thoron progenies (5.49 mWL and 3.88
mWL). While low values were observed in dwellings
with vinyl floor. High concentrations of radon and
thoron progeny were observed between 3.00 to 5.00
Hrs, while low values were observed at 14.00 hrs.
Studies suggest that radiation emission from radon
and thoron daughter in the study area were remained
well below the recommended level. Iran. J. Radiat.
Res., 2010 8 (3): 149-154 |
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| Keywords: Radon, thron, progeny, seasonal variation, diurnal variation etc. |
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Full-Text [PDF 300 kb]
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Type of Study: Original Research |
Subject:
Radiation Biology
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