Radon (222Rn) concentrations in the touristic Jumandy cave in the Amazon region of Ecuador

Paz, Felipe Alejandro García; Romero, Yasser Alejandro Gonzalez; Žalakevičiūtė, Rasa

doi:10.1093/jrr/rrz064

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 21 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…Cave radon research began in the 1970s and 1980s, and radon monitoring has been carried out in a large number of tourist caves [17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Zhijindong Cave is one of the most scenic in Asia and has received millions of tourists each year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Variations of Radon Concentration in the Atmosphere of Zhijindong Cave (China)

et al. 2021

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Ensuring high air quality in the atmosphere of Zhijindong Cave is essential, for it is one of the most scenic in Asia and has received millions of tourists each year. Radon, as the most important radioactive carcinogen, is a priority and has been measured since just after its opening. However, an artificial exit was opened in 2002, and it is still unclear what the influence of that has been on the radon concentration in the cave atmosphere. In this study, we use RAD7 to monitor the spatiotemporal variations of radon concentration in the atmosphere of Zhijindong Cave for a whole year. The results show that radon concentration is generally higher in the hot season and lower in the cold season, and both with a distinct spatial differences. The highest measured radon concentration is 1691 Bq/m3, which is lower compared with the previous study. The reduced radon concentration could be caused by the strengthened cave ventilation due to the artificial exit. The temporal variation of radon concentration is related to the outside temperature change, while the spatial variation is mostly related to the different cave layers. The effective dose is negligible for tourists, but can be as high as 9.7 mSv for tour guides and 22.6 mSv for photographers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Variations of Radon Concentration in the Atmosphere of Zhijindong Cave (China)

et al. 2021

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Radon Dose Determination and Radiological Risk in Some Mexican Caves with CR-39 Detectors

Chavarría

Golzarri

Espinosa

2021

J. Nucl. Phy. Mat. Sci. Rad. A.

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Radon (222Rn) is a radioactive gas, from the 238U decay chain, that contributes in large part of the natural radiation dose to which humans are exposed. Radon is the second cause of lung cancer after tobacco. The US-EPA considers a concentration of 148 Bq/m3 for homes and 400 Bq/m3 for workplaces as the reference level. Caves are closed spaces where 222Rn, which emanates from the surrounding minerals and rocks, can accumulate and reaches large concentrations that can represent a health risk for the guides, speleologists and visitors who spend time in these spaces. This work uses the previously recorded radon concentrations in 8 caves in Mexico and calculates the average dose range and the average annual dose for each of them with the “Wise” public domain program (http://www.wise-uranium.org/rdcrn.html) to determine the level of radiological risk with 2,000 1,000 and 500 working hours per year. Karmidas cave had the highest average 222Rn concentration with 27,633.3 Bq/m3 and for 2,000 working hours per year an average annual dose rate of 347.1 mSv/y. Los Riscos cave had the lowest average concentration with 384.7 Bq/m3 and for 2,000 working hours per year an average annual dose rate of 4.832 mSv/y. These results show that all the caves studied present values,with 2,000 working hours per year, that exceed 3 mSv/y for workplaces and must be considered by the people who work in these places. A casual tourist visiting the caves does not present any radiological risk, while guides and speleologists should consider it.

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A Preliminary Study of Radon Equilibrium Factor at a Tourist Cave in Okinawa, Japan

et al. 2021

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The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) issued its Publication 137, Occupational Intakes of Radionuclides: Part 3 in which the radon equilibrium factor is fixed as 0.4 for tourist caves; however, several studies have reported a different value for the factor and its seasonal variation has also been observed. In this study, the radon concentration, equilibrium equivalent radon concentration and meteorological data were measured, and the equilibrium factor was evaluated in a tourist cave, Gyokusen-do Cave located in the southern part of Okinawa Island in southwestern Japan. Radon concentrations were measured with an AlphaGUARD and their corresponding meteorological data were measured with integrated sensors. Equilibrium equivalent radon concentration was measured with a continuous air monitor. The measured radon concentrations tended to be low in winter and high in summer, which is similar to previously obtained results. By contrast, the equilibrium factor tended to be high in winter (0.55 ± 0.09) and low in summer (0.24 ± 0.15), with a particularly large fluctuation in summer. It was concluded that measurements in different seasons are necessary for proper evaluation of radon equilibrium factor.

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Radon (222Rn) concentrations in the touristic Jumandy cave in the Amazon region of Ecuador

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

Spatiotemporal Variations of Radon Concentration in the Atmosphere of Zhijindong Cave (China)

Spatiotemporal Variations of Radon Concentration in the Atmosphere of Zhijindong Cave (China)

Radon Dose Determination and Radiological Risk in Some Mexican Caves with CR-39 Detectors

A Preliminary Study of Radon Equilibrium Factor at a Tourist Cave in Okinawa, Japan

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