Radon equilibrium factor and perceived air quality in an air-conditioned auditorium in Lublin, Poland

Abstract

The study reports measurements of radon and its decay products and of perceived air quality carried out in an occupied and unoccupied auditorium at the Lublin University of Technology in Lublin, Poland during three air conditioning system operation modes – air conditioning off, air conditioning on and air conditioning on/off. In the air conditioning on/off mode radon and its decay product concentrations and values of perceived air quality were inversely related. During that air conditioning operation mode, the value of the mean equilibrium factor F for the unattached fraction (0.31 ± 0.19) was somewhat higher than for the attached fraction (0.24 ± 0.19) and significant negative correlations were found between F values for attached, unattached and for the sum of both progeny fractions and perceived air quality values. These findings may be of importance as they indicate that in certain air conditioning operation modes indoor air quality deteriorates along with a reduction in the radon health hazard. This, in turn may adversely affect the comfort and productivity of the room users.

Status of radon exposure in Bangladeshi locations and dwellings

“…(b) Larger variations were observed for radon equilibrium factor (F = 0.04 to 0.97) in Bangladeshi dwellings. Several studies (Chen & Harley, 2018a, 2018bHarley et al, 2012;Iimoto, 2000;Kranrod et al, 2009;Nader, 2019;Polednik et al, 2018;Yasuoka et al, 2009) clarified the following parameters as the influential to the variation indoor F: dwelling structure, human lifestyle, room occupancy, and usage of mechanical ventilation appliances. Thus, these parameters should also be focused on in systematic radon research for Bangladeshi dwellings in order to explain the sources of observed large variation in indoor F across the country.…”

Characterization of environmental radiological parameters on dose coefficient - Realistic dosimetry compared with epidemiological dosimetry models

“…Although pre-calculated equilibrium factors and dose conversion factors from epidemiological models are commonly used in dose assessment for simplicity and practicality, these values may differ from the actual values present in the investigated environment [ 14 ]. Various environmental conditions can influence the radon equilibrium factor, which represents the ratio of the concentrations of short-lived radon progeny to the concentration of radon gas.…”