Rapid radon potential classification using soil-gas radon measurements in the Cooley Peninsula, County Louth, Ireland

Elío, Javier; Crowley, Quentin; Scanlon, Ray; Hodgson, Jim; Long, Stephanie

doi:10.1007/s12665-019-8339-4

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…They also highlighted the relevance of how soil gas permeability may elevate radon potential where geological materials do not have high radon concentrations. Later, ( 31 ) remarked that soil radon concentration and permeability provided the best indoor radon estimations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of the Radon Risk Under Different European Climates and Soil Textures

Gil-Oncina

Valdés-Abellán

Pla

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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Radon is a radioactive gas produced from the natural radioactive decay of uranium and is found in almost all rocks and soils. In confined places (e.g., dwellings, workplaces, caves, and underground mines), radon may accumulate and become a substantial health risk since it is considered the second most important cause of lung cancer in many developed countries. Radon risk assessment commonly considers either field or estimate values of the radon concentration and the gas permeability of soils. However, radon risk assessment from single measurement surveys to radon potential largescale mapping is strongly sensitive to the soil texture variability and climate changes, and particularly, to the soil water content dynamic and its effect on soil gas permeability. In this paper, the gas permeability of soils, and thus, the estimation of radon risk, is studied considering the effect of three different climates following the Köppen classification and four soil textures on soil water content dynamics. This investigation considers the CLIGEN weather simulator to elaborate 100-year length climatic series; Rosseta 3 pedotransfer function to calculate soil hydraulics parameters, and the HYDRUS-1D software to model the dynamics of water content in the soil. Results reveal that climate strongly affects gas permeability of soils and they must be considered as an additional factor during the evaluation of radon exposure risk. The impact of climate and texture defines the soil water content dynamic. Coarse soils show smaller gas permeability variations and then radon risk, in this case, is less affected by the climate type. However, in clay soils, the effect of climate and the differences in soil water content derive in gas permeability variations between 100 and 1,000 times through an annual cycle. As a result, it may cross the boundary between two radon risk categories. Results deeply confirm that both climate and texture should be compulsory considered when calculating the radon exposure risk and in the definition of new strategies for the elaboration of more reliable geogenic radon potential largescale maps.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of the Radon Risk Under Different European Climates and Soil Textures

Gil-Oncina

Valdés-Abellán

Pla

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…Furthermore, in situ GRP surveys can be done rapidly at a local scale (62). It is important to note that the GRP map shown in Fig.…”

Section: Radon Potential Mapmentioning

confidence: 99%

A user’s guide to radon priority areas, examples from Ireland

Hughes

Elío

Crowley

2022

radon

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Exposure to radon over time has significant detrimental effects on human health. Approximately 226,000 annual radon-related deaths have been reported from 66 countries (1). Many countries have a radon action plan, in order to reduce the harmful effects of radon exposure on the general public. Maps are routinely used to assist with mitigation strategies and delineate areas of priority regulation. Standard regulations in the European Union include the requirement for workplaces to test and the requirement to have reduction methods in newly built homes. Such laws are assigned systematically to areas that are understood to have high values of indoor radon. This article demonstrates that the boundaries of radon priority areas may vary, depending on the data set and methods used. We propose a table and a decision matrix to assist in choosing the most appropriate visual aid according to the purpose for which the map is to be used. We conclude that no single radon map is suitable to fit all objectives, and some maps are more suitable than others depending on the purpose.

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“…The equilibrium radon concentration in soil gas (C Rn in kBq m −3 ) and the soil permeability (k in m 2 ) were assigned values according to the categorization of each parameter, as proposed by Elio et al (26) and summarized in Table 1.…”

Section: Geogenic Radon Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have carried out independent soil gas radon concentration measurements in selected areas in Ireland, following the protocol described in Elío et al (26). These measurements were conducted by first introducing a steel hollow probe in the soil at a typical depth of 75-100 cm, allowing manual sampling of the soil gas with a 150 mL syringe.…”

Section: Soil Gas Radon Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of airborne radiometric surveys for large-scale geogenic radon potential classification

Elío

Crowley

Scanlon

et al. 2020

radon

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Background: Indoor radon represents an important health issue to the general population. Therefore, accurate radon risk maps help public authorities to prioritise areas where mitigation actions should be implemented. As the main source of indoor radon is the soil where the building is constructed, maps derived from geogenic factors ([e.g. geogenic radon potential [GRP]) are viewed as valuable tools for radon mapping. Objectives: A novel indirect method for estimating the GRP at national/regional level is presented and evaluated in this article. Design: We calculate the radon risk solely based on the radon concentration in the soil and on the subsoil permeability. The soil gas radon concentration was estimated using airborne gamma-ray spectrometry (i.e. equivalent uranium [eU]), assuming a secular equilibrium between eU and radium (226Ra). The subsoil permeability was estimated based on groundwater subsoil permeability and superficial geology (i.e. quaternary geology) by assigning a permeability category to each soil type (i.e. low, moderate or high). Soil gas predictions were compared with in situ radon measurements for representative areas, and the resulting GRP map was validated with independent indoor radon data. Results: There was good agreement between soil gas radon predictions and in situ measurements, and the resultant GRP map identifies potential radon risk areas. Our model shows that the probability of having an indoor radon concentration higher than the Irish reference level (200 Bq m-3) increases from c. 6% (5.2% – 7.1%) for an area classified as Low risk, to c. 9.7% (9.1% – 10.5%) for Moderate-Low risk areas, c. 14% (13.4% – 15.3%) for Moderate-High risk areas and c. 26% (24.5% – 28.6%) for High risk areas. Conclusions: The method proposed here is a potential alternative approach for radon mapping when airborne radiometric data (i.e. eU) are available.

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Rapid radon potential classification using soil-gas radon measurements in the Cooley Peninsula, County Louth, Ireland

Cited by 9 publications

References 65 publications

Estimation of the Radon Risk Under Different European Climates and Soil Textures

Estimation of the Radon Risk Under Different European Climates and Soil Textures

A user’s guide to radon priority areas, examples from Ireland

Application of airborne radiometric surveys for large-scale geogenic radon potential classification

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