In Kinsarvik, Norway, extraordinary high radon levels in dwelling units are revealed. The bedrock geology was expected to give the answer to why the levels are so high. However, the uranium or radium content is not especially high123. Thus, we believe the explanation to the high radon consentration to be related to the unconsolidated sediments4.
In Hungary and Slovenia a lot of thermal water occurrences providing mineral water for spas are used for curative therapeutic purposes in cases of locomotor and gastrointestinal diseases. In these balneotherapeutic facilities the atmosphere can contain radon and radon daughters at high concentrations. Radon diffusing from the pores and cracks of the minerals being dissolved in underground waters is taken up by spa wells and in the spas the radon emanates from the water.
CRR, the Regional Center for Radioactivity, is monitoring Veneto, a region in the north-east of Italy, to trace a map of areas with elevated indoor radon levels. This survey is based on analysis of territorial distribution of radon concentration in dwellings. Maps of potential risk are searched in the upper part of the region based on the indication of a previous survey. Percentage of dwellings exceeding reference levels are estimated on the base of log-normal data distribution. Normalizations to ground floor or average housing type are produced.
Ventilation systems are known to influence radon concentrations indoors considerably. However, the initial results of the largest radon survey in 3660 Norwegian kindergartens conducted during heating seasons from 1996 to 1998 showed marginal effect of such systems. Clarification of this surprising result required a more detailed secondary investigation in a smaller group of kindergartens with balanced ventilation systems operating under special ventilation regime.
Mapping the geogenic radon potential in Germany is a research project initiated by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Conservation and Reactor Safety. The project was aimed to develop a standard methodology for the estimation of a geogenic radon potential and to apply this method to map the region of Germany as an overview for planning purposes. The regionalization results from a distance-weighted interpolation of the site-specific values of radon concentration in soil gas and in-situ gas permeability of soils on a regular grid considering the corresponding geological units.
The evaluation of the geogenic radon potential is based on field measurements of radon activity concentration in soil gas. The values obtained through such spot measurements depend strongly on the geological background [1] [2] but also on the soil properties like grainsize distribution, porespace watersaturation and also on meteorological conditions. The goal of this study was to estimate the variability of the radon activity concentration in soil gas and to relate it to the variations of soil properties induced by seasonal changes.
Questions have been raised about the economic implications of the regulations governing radon gas level identification and remediation in buildings. Attempts to answer the economic questions related to proposed policy have been varied and criticised for lack of scope and comparability. It is imperative therefore that a general model for the evaluation of radon remediation programmes is adopted by participating interests to ensure the comparability and usefulness of ratios in decision making.
Greek Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) is the regulatory and competent authority on radiation protection matters. In order to facilitate the implementation of the new European BSS Directive, which refers to the Radiation Protection at work places with increased levels of natural radiation exposure, GAEC has upgraded its present infrastructure specifically in the field of dosimetric measurements and monitoring
The radium distribution of the soil is one important parameter governing radon emanation. The present study’s main objective is to investigate radium distribution in different Swedish soils, using chemical selective sequential extraction, and to compare t
After more than 35 years operation the uranium mining and milling facilities near Pécs city in Hungary were finally shut down in 1997. One of the most important and most complicated tasks is the remediation of tailings ponds because of the complexity of c
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