The identification of a radon-affected area in the south of Yugoslavia was based on geologicalstructuraland geochemical prospecting data of radioactive and other mineral resources. An anomalousarea was recognized at a rural community Gornja Stubla (in the extreme south of Serbia), whileprospecting for uranium in the region on the margin of the large Vardar Zone geotectonic unit.
Investigations on the retrospective estimation of radon exposure in homes had already been carried outin international collaboration in the uranium mining regions of Germany since 1994. Following aConcerted Action named "Retrospectively Estimated Radon in Areas Affected by Uranium MiningActivities " was agreed upon.
The retrospective determination of radon exposure levels in dwellings by means of the measurement ofthe Po-210 surface activity is subject to various uncertainties. These result partly from the valuesassumed for the equilibrium factor F and for the unattached fraction f, and, more importantly, fromdifferences in the deposition velocities of short-lived decay products of Rn-222, caused by varyingconditions of turbulence.
The work described in this paper is based upon the results of the recently completed National Surveyof Radon in Dwellings [1] carried out by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII).Measurements were carried out in 11,054 dwellings, located in 832 10 km grid squares across thecountry.
This paper presents the results of the National Survey of Radon in Dwellings carried out by theRadiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII). Radon measurements were carried out in 11,319houses throughout the country. Indoor annual average radon concentrations ranged from 10 Bq/m3 to1924 Bq/m3. The measurement data were grouped on the basis of the 10 km grid squares of the IrishNational Grid System and used to predict the percentage of dwellings in each grid square which exceedsthe Reference Level of 200 Bq/m3.
The average indoor radon concentration in Finnish flats is 80 Bq/m3. Typically walls have been madeusing concrete elements. Building materials are the dominant source of indoor radon. However, in theflats of the lowest floor, with a floor slab in direct ground contact, the main source of radon is oftenthe inflow of radon bearing soil air. The number of these ground contact flats is less than 10 % of thetotal number of flats. The average indoor radon concentration of these ground contact flats is 150Bq/m3.
Since 1994 the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has been conducting a pilot programme ofpersonal monitoring of workers in workplaces with high radon concentrations. Initially theprogramme involved staff employed by the operators of commercial show caves, but in January 1999it was extended to incorporate non-show cave workers when employees in aboveground offices in twosmall Departments in an Irish University were included.Personal monitoring of show cave staff confirmed the fact that employees in two caves receivedannual radiation doses in excess of 4 mSv.
The Megalopolis lignite field basin in southern Greece, with Megalopolis-A and B lignite-firedpower plants in operation (total 900 MW), has been repeatedly investigated during the past 25years by the Nuclear Engineering Section of the National Technical University of Athens (NESNTUA).The present work aims at an integrated radioenvironmental approach leading to the doseassessment to the public and to the plants staff.
The Nuclear Engineering Section of the National Technical University of Athens undertook the organisation of a European building material radon exhalation rate intercomparison exercise in the framework of the European Research into Radon In Construction Concerted Action (ERRICCA). The intercomparison started in June 1998 and it was concluded in February 1999. Twenty participants from 13 countries took part. The exercise focused on the radon exhalation rate determination from a concrete slab, specially constructed to produce radon surface flux well below 10 mBqm-2s-1.
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