Radon Research in Poland: A Review

Abstract

The article presents the most important results of radon research in Poland. Large-scale research, launched in this country in the early 1950s, was originally linked to using radon dissolved in groundwater in balneotherapy as well as to uranium ore exploration and mining. This early research focused on the area of the Sudetes and nowadays it is also south-western Poland where most radon research is being conducted. This is chiefly due to the geological structure of the Sudetes and the Fore-Sudetic block, which is propitious to radon accumulation in many environments. Radon research in Poland has been developing dynamically since the 1990s. A lot of research teams and centres have been formed, all of them using a variety of methods and advanced measurement equipment enabling research into radon occurrence in all geospheres and all spheres of human activity. The author presents the contribution of Polish science to broadening human knowledge of the geochemistry of radon, particularly of 222Rn isotope. The article also presents the ranges and mean values of 222Rn activity concentration measured in different environments in Poland including the atmospheric air, the air in buildings and underground hard-coal and copper mines, the cave air, the air in underground tourist sites and abandoned uranium mines, as well as soil air and groundwater.

Radon problems in mining and post-mining areas in Upper Silesia region, Poland

“…The average concentration of radon for the area of the USCB, calculated on the basis of approximately 1000 long-term measurements that were carried out on the ground fl oors of houses located in the area is 47 Bq/m 3 and is comparable with the values given by other sources [9]. According to the Radiological Atlas of Poland [10], the average concentration of radon in dwellings in Poland is 49 Bq/m 3 .…”

222Rn Concentration in Groundwaters Circulating in Granitoid Massifs of Poland

“…In Poland, areas with geological structures dominated by granitoid massifs are found in the south-western and the southern parts of the country (Figure 1). So far, it is mainly the area of Lower Silesia, i.e., the south-western part of the country, where research into radon occurrence in the natural environment has been conducted [23]. The geological structure of this part of Poland is the reason for the occurrence of locally high or very high concentrations of radon.…”

“…This region constitutes the north-eastern part of the crystalline Bohemian massif, one of major massifs built of crystalline (igneous and metamorphic) rocks in Europe [24][25][26]. The structure of this area is characterized by the occurrence at small depths or on the surface of uranium-enriched crystalline rocks, including granitoid massifs [2,23,27,28]. In about a dozen places in the area of the Sudetes, usually small and now unexploited uranium deposits have been documented [29][30][31][32].…”

The assessment of lining structure impact on radon behaviour inside selected underground workings under the cour d’honneur of Książ castle

“…The number of such spaces in Poland is growing steadily. A large proportion of the about 200 currently existing ones [5-7, 20-24, 32, 33, 71, 85] are underground workplaces situated at small depths (up to 200 m below ground level) in radon prone areas characterized by increased concentrations of radium ( 226 Ra > 30 Bq/m 3 ), the parent source of radon present in subsoil [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] Due to its gaseous state, radon ( 222 Rn) readily migrates from the structure of rocks building the subsoil into both open and enclosed spaces (especially these situated immediately under the earth's surface). Radon's ability to accumulate, especially in natural cavities within rock masses and their man-made counterparts such as mines, adits, castle vaults or underground laboratories, is due, among other reasons, to its high density-over 7 times as high as the specific weight of the atmospheric air [33][34][35].…”