Comparative analysis of the measuring results of the radon flux density and Ra-226 specific activity for different soils types

Abstract

High concentration of radon in the premises leads to a risk of oncological diseases in the population living on the lower floors of buildings. In this regard, an assessment of the potential hazard of radon is made in the construction sites under the production of design and construction works. In the Russian Federation radon flux density measured on the earth's surface is used to estimate the potential radon hazard of the building site. The research of the relationship between the radon flux density values and the amount of radium in the soil from which radon is formed is topic of interest. The article demonstrates the comparative analysis of the measuring results of radon flux density and specific activity of Ra-226 obtained on the surface of the different soil types. EXPERIMENTAL PART Radon flux density measurements were carried out in the spring-summer period of 2018 at three testing sites in Tomsk (terrace of the Tom River in the Lagerny Garden, Russia) and seven sites of Gorny Altai (Russia), characterized by different types of soil.

Overview of Radon Flux Characteristics, Measurements, Models and Its Potential Use for the Estimation of Radon Priority Areas

“…Stavitskaya et al performed radon flux measurements in 2 regions: one covering 64 measurements for 3 different soil types, and another with 74 measurements for 5 different soil types [91]. After 15 min of accumulation, air was transferred to the sampler with a sampling time of 5 min and then to the measuring device [91].…”

“…Stavitskaya et al performed radon flux measurements in 2 regions: one covering 64 measurements for 3 different soil types, and another with 74 measurements for 5 different soil types [91]. After 15 min of accumulation, air was transferred to the sampler with a sampling time of 5 min and then to the measuring device [91]. In the first region, the content of radium in loess loams is 30 Bqkg −1 , while in argillaceous slate and porcelain clay it is about five to six times higher.…”

“…However, radon flux was also calculated based on the radon concentration in soil gas and not measured. Stavitskaya et al considered radon flux to carry out assessments of the radon risks of building plots [91]. Baeza et al measured radon flux together with other parameters and indoor radon concentrations, and showed that radon flux alone is sometimes a good predictor of indoor radon concentrations, but in other cases, the correlation is much weaker [92].…”

A geogenic approach for the Radon monitoring and the exposure assessment at a regional scale: The results of the Rad_Campania project

“…The only exception is represented by radon, the heaviest chemical noble element, which occurs in the gaseous state at Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP) conditions and naturally does not create chemical bonds. It tends, therefore, to migrate within the rock materials in the soil, where it has been formed (emanation process), and transported in the near-surface soils by fluid carriers (water, air, CO 2 , CH 4 ), through advective and diffusive displacements, favoured by the soil mechanical characteristics, (porosity, structure and particle size) and the environmental conditions reaching the atmosphere (exhalation process) or spatial locations distant from the source (Hosoda at el., 2012;Stavitskaya et al, 2019).…”

“…In the same spirit expressed by the Directive, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission has been working to the project of a European Atlas of Natural Radiation. The Atlas is a collection of maps of Europe displaying the levels of natural radioactivity caused by different sources such as indoor radon, cosmic radiation, terrestrial gamma radiation, terrestrial radionuclides in soil and bedrock (Tollefsen et al, 2017;Ciotoli et al, 2017;Watson et al, 2017;Bossew et al, 2020).…”