Investigation of radon concentrations and effective radium content in soils and dwellings of Wolaita Sodo Town, Ethiopia

Nebere, Lingerew; Maregu, Nigus; Abeje, Natnael; Dessalegn, Belachew; Yibka, Tamirat

doi:10.4103/jrcr.jrcr_20_18

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The main source of indoor radon is its immediate parent radium-226 in the ground of the site and in the building materials [5]. The outdoor air also contributes to the radon concentration indoors, via the ventilation air.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Radon Concentration and Its Ventilation Dependence Measured in Some Dwellings of Debresina, Ethiopia

Beshah¹,

Muhe²

2020

WJAP

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Ionizing radiation has been proved a major stress that can induce carcinogenesis. Among these ionizing radiations the most significant one is radon which is a source of 43% of the annual dose averaged over the population of the world. If it is present in enhanced level beyond maximum permissible limit, it may cause lung cancer. In the present work a set of indoor radon measurements has been carried out in some houses of Debresina district, Ethiopia using cellulose nitrate LR-115 type-II plastic track detectors in the bare mode. The detectors were fixed in the houses for one month to be exposed with indoor radon from February to March 2018. Etching of detectors was done with 2.5 N NaOH solution for 75 minutes at 60°C in the Soil physics laboratory and counting of tracks recorded was done using optical microscope in the Department of Earth Science, Bahirdar University. It is found that the value of radon concentration in those dwellings ranges from 12.24 to 251.94 Bq/m 3 with an average of 102.87 Bq/m 3 and standard deviation of 81.97 Bq/m 3 . The annual effective dose rates are found to vary from 0.31 to 6.29 mSv y −1 with an average of 2.57 mSv y -1 and a standard deviation of 2.05 mSv y −1 . The indoor radon concentration has been found to have strong correlation with the ventilation condition. Ventilated houses have shown less radon concentration than unventilated houses. Though most of the indoor radon concentration values measured are well within the recommended action level of ICRP, more than half of these values are above the new recommended level of WHO.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tap-water and the domestic gas supply are usually radon sources of minor importance, with a few exceptions. In most situations it appears that elevated indoor radon level originates from radon in the underlying rocks and soils [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%