Outdoor Radon as a Tool to Estimate Radon Priority Areas—A Literature Overview

Čeliković, I.; Pantelić, Gordana K.; Vukanac, Ivana; Nikolić, Jelena Krneta; Živanović, Miloš Z.; Cinelli, Giorgia; Gruber, Valeria; Baumann, Sebastian; Poncela, Luis Santiago Quindós; Rábago, Daniel

doi:10.3390/ijerph19020662

Cited by 34 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…Radon fluxes are commonly used to determine the radon potential of an area, helping to identify the areas that need regulatory requirements [ 1 ]. Currently, the European Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM (EU-BSS) [ 2 ] requires all EU member states to develop a Radon Action Plan, which should include the identification of Radon Priority Areas (RPA) where the annual average radon concentration in buildings is expected to exceed the national reference level [ 3 ]. In addition, radon flux observations are also useful for climate research goals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intercomparison of Radon Flux Monitors at Low and at High Radium Content Areas under Field Conditions

Rábago

Quindós

Vargas

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Interlaboratory exercises are a good tool to compare the response of different systems to the same quantity and to identify possible inconsistencies between them. One of the main goals of the EMPIR 19ENV01 traceRadon project is to harmonize radon flux measurements based on different systems and methodologies. In the framework of the traceRadon Project, two radon flux intercomparison campaigns were carried out in October 2021 at high and at low radon source areas. Four institutions participated in the field intercomparison exercises with their own systems. Every system was based on a specific radon monitor (diffusion or pump mode) and an accumulation chamber (with manual or automatic opening). Radon fluxes were calculated by each participant using both exponential and linear fittings of the radon activity concentration measured over time within the accumulation chambers. The results of this study show mainly: (i) the exponential approach is not advisable due to the variability of the radon flux and the leakage of the systems during long-time measurements; (ii) the linear approach should be applied to minimize the measurement period in agreement with the time response and sensitivity of the monitors; (iii) radon flux measured at high radon source areas (radium content of about 800 Bq kg−1) risks being underestimated because of the influence of advective effects; (iv) radon flux measured at low radon source areas (radium content of about 30 Bq kg−1) may present large uncertainties if sensitive radon monitors with pump mode are not used.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intercomparison of Radon Flux Monitors at Low and at High Radium Content Areas under Field Conditions

Rábago

Quindós

Vargas

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…The radiological station located in Bilbao is a combined Particulate and Iodine Monitoring system Type 9850-6 (Moving Filter Monitor BAI 9100 D, IOD-131 monitor BAI9103-2 and Gamma Dose Rate Detector LB6360, Berthold trademark positioned on the roof of a building at 10 m above ground level [22]. At this height, the thoron contribution can be assumed negligible, so we do not expect fluctuations in radon/thoron decay product concentration [10]. This equipment has been checked empirically in Berthold every five years to determine any effect on the calibration factor in order to keep consistent high-quality measurements.…”

Section: Radon Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The estimation of radon concentration from radon progenies requires the application of an equilibrium factor, which is known to have great variability, from 0.13 to 0.91 [10]. Measurements of the equilibrium factor were not available.…”

Section: Radon Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although outdoor 222 Rn does not represent a significant health risk to the general population, it plays an important role in scientific research. For this reason, it is routinely measured in many parts of the world due to its use to analyse different research topics, such as (1) to study atmospheric transport and mixing processes within the planetary boundary layer [6], (2) to characterise air mass history and fetch at remote sites [7], (3) to indirectly estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes using the Radon Tracer Method (RTM) [8,9] and in radiation protection the estimation of radon priority areas (RPA) [10], (4) to analyse residues from certain NORM industries [11], and (5) to characterize radon wash-out peaks in the ambient dose rate data, which are exchanged in the EURDEP early warning system for radiological/nuclear accidents (https://remon.jrc.ec.europa.eu/About/Rad-Data-Exchange, accessed on 14 October 2022). The EMPIR project 19ENV01 TraceRadon (http://traceradonempir.eu/, accessed on 1 October 2022), which started in 2020, represents one example of research focused on atmospheric radon and radon flux.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meteorological Approach in the Identification of Local and Remote Potential Sources of Radon: An Example in Northern Iberian Peninsula

Hernández-Ceballos

Alegría

Peñalva

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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This paper presents a meteorological approach to identify local and remote sources driving the variability of surface daily radon concentrations. To this purpose, hourly 222Rn concentration and surface meteorological measurements, and air mass trajectories at Bilbao station (northern Iberian Peninsula) during the period 2017–2018 have been taken as reference. To investigate the potential transport pathways and potential 222Rn sources, the backward trajectory cluster analysis, trajectory sector analysis (TSA), and potential source contribution function (PSCF) are applied. On average, the diurnal 222Rn cycle shows the expected behaviour, with larger concentrations during the night and minimum concentrations during the daylight hours, with differences in the seasonal amplitudes. According to daily differences between maximum and baseline values, 222Rn daily cycles were grouped into six groups to identify meteorological conditions associated with each amplitude, and potential source areas and transport routes of 222Rn over Bilbao. The trajectory cluster and the TSA method show that the main airflow pathways are from the south, with small displacement, and the northeast, while the analysis of surface wind speed and direction indicates that the highest amplitudes of 222Rn concentrations are registered under the development of sea-land breezes. The PSCF method identified south-western and north-eastern areas highly contributing to the 222Rn concentration. These areas are confirmed by comparing with the radon flux map and the European map of uranium concentration in soil. The results have demonstrated the need in combining the analysis of local and regional/synoptic factors in explaining the origin and variability of 222Rn concentrations.

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“…Its large-scale monitoring is of scientific interest in two different fields: assessment of the human health radiation risk, and/or investigation of some natural phenomena related to radon exhalation and its propagation in the Earth's crust and atmosphere. Both areas are an object of extensive investigations (and a huge number of publications: a few of the recent reviews on different aspects of radonrelated investigations are in [1][2][3][4]).…”

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confidence: 99%

Feasibility of in Situ Radon Monitoring Using Common Gm Counters

Terziyski¹,

Tsankov²,

Tenev³

et al. 2022

RAD Conference Proceedings

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Most of the detectors used for radon measurements rely on registering the alpha-rays coming from the 222 Rn decay itself and those from its daughters 218 Po and 214 Po, as well. Although active alpha-detectors have very low background and good efficiency, they are relatively expensive and are not well suited for field work due to their sensitivity to the ambient air humidity. In this work, an alternative possibility for in situ systematic measurements (monitoring) of radon concentration is investigated. It is suggested to use simple and wide spread detectors -Geiger-Mueller (GM) counters which are sensitive to beta/gamma radiation of 222 Rn daughters 214 Pb and 214 Bi. Long term measurements of the radiation background in uninhabited dwelling rooms were performed using simultaneously a classical radon alpha-particles detector (based on an ion chamber) and a beta/gamma detector (GM counter); the basic meteorological parameters at the site were also monitored. A very high correlation between the response of both detectors was found (r 2 ~0.9) which indicates that the radon monitoring can be successfully performed by means of cheap and moisture resistant GM counters. The drawbacks and the limitations of this method are also discussed.

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Outdoor Radon as a Tool to Estimate Radon Priority Areas—A Literature Overview

Cited by 34 publications

References 102 publications

Intercomparison of Radon Flux Monitors at Low and at High Radium Content Areas under Field Conditions

Intercomparison of Radon Flux Monitors at Low and at High Radium Content Areas under Field Conditions

Meteorological Approach in the Identification of Local and Remote Potential Sources of Radon: An Example in Northern Iberian Peninsula

Feasibility of in Situ Radon Monitoring Using Common Gm Counters

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