STUDY OF 222RN CONTINUOUS MONITORING TIME SERIES AND DOSE ASSESSMENT IN SIX EUROPEAN CAVES

2020 ◽  
Vol 191 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-237
Author(s):  
F Ambrosino ◽  
L Thinová ◽  
M Briestenský ◽  
C Sabbarese

Abstract The present work aims to assess the effective doses from long-term continual radon monitoring in six European caves (Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic), including influencing environmental factors. Caves are important radiation protection subjects because of elevated radon activity concentration (~kBq/m3), mostly due to the low natural ventilation. The sources of radon gas are most often underground rock layers and clastic sediments. The radon activity concentrations show seasonal variations, for which the outside temperature is the main driving force. The human health impact due to the radon inhalation in monitored caves was estimated through the annual effective dose, using the methodology provided by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP Publication 137). The annual effective dose could reach several tens of mSv, depending on the working hours spent in the underground.

Author(s):  
Anas M Ababneh ◽  
Qutad M Samarah

Abstract It is inevitable that we are exposed to radiation daily from various sources and products that we consume on daily basis. The use of toothpaste for oral hygiene is one of the most common daily practices by humans and yet very little data are available regarding its radiation content. In this work, we investigated the concentrations of gamma emitting radionuclides in toothpaste samples consumed in Jordan. 40K and 226Ra were detected in almost one-third of the samples, whereas 228Ra was detected in nearly half of them. The corresponding activity concentrations in the detected samples were in the ranges of 68.7–154.2, 4.6–14.1 and 1.3–10.0 Bq/kg, respectively. Dose assessment of accidental ingestion of toothpaste for children and adults was made, and its contribution to the annual effective dose was found to be very minimal with maximum doses of ~2.9 and 1.3 μSv for children and adults, respectively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-128
Author(s):  
Dong Xie ◽  
Chenhua Wang ◽  
Chuck W Yu ◽  
Hanqing Wang

Radon is a radioactive pollutant that could pose hazards to the surrounding environment and people due to its radioactive decay progenies. In this study, numerical simulations of radon dispersion were conducted under natural and mechanical ventilation with an air-purifier for radon. Factors such as the air supply speed, position and air supply angles of the purifier were considered. Results showed that the increase in the air supply speed from the purifier was an effective solution to reduce indoor radon pollution. The effect was better when the purifier was in the middle of the room. The purification effect was similar when the air supply changed under natural ventilation, while purification function was more effective when the air supply angle was 60° under the mechanical ventilation condition. An effective dose estimation involving typical ventilation schemes with radon purifier was evaluated. Using this approach, the radiation effect on occupants was computed. The calculated effective dose was 0.9 mSv y−1 when the air supply speed of the purifier was 0.2 m s−1 under natural ventilation. As a result, the effective dose calculated was under the annual effective dose limit of 3–10 mSv y−1 recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for public exposure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 191 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-191
Author(s):  
Petr P S Otahal ◽  
Ivo Burian ◽  
Eliska Fialova ◽  
Josef Vosahlik

Abstract Measurements of activity concentration of radon gas and radon decay products were carried out in several workplaces including schools, radium spas, swimming pools, water treatment plants, caves and former mines. Based on these measurements, annual effective doses to workers were estimated and values of the equilibrium factor, F, were calculated. This paper describes the different approaches used to estimate the annual effective dose based on the dose coefficients recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Using the measured F values as opposed to the default F value of 0.4 changed the doses by about 5–95% depending mainly upon the ventilation conditions of the workplace.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 2794-2803
Author(s):  
Vikas Duggal

Abstract Uranium, both a radioactive material and a heavy metal, poses a health risk due to its radiological properties and chemical toxicity. In the present study, uranium concentration and relative age-dependent effective dose have been measured in 27 commercial brands of bottled waters collected randomly from different districts of Punjab, India. Uranium concentration varied from 0.19 to 9.29 μg l−1 with a mean value of 1.58 μg l−1, a standard deviation of 1.95 μg l−1 and a median of 0.82 μg l−1. Uranium concentrations in all the samples were found to be lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) prescribed limit of 30 μg l−1 and AERB India proposed a radiological based limit of 60 μg l−1. Based on permissible limits, all the samples were suitable for human consumption. The annual effective dose was determined by taking the recommended water intake values of different age groups. The mean annual effective dose for all age groups was well within the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommended reference dose level of 1 mSv y−1. The highest dose was calculated for infants, which makes them the most crucial group of the population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 187 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-219
Author(s):  
Dafina Kikaj ◽  
Janja Vaupotič

Abstract A year-long continuous measurement of the radon activity concentration in the outdoor air at a Mediterranean site has shown a range of 2–144 Bq m−3 and annual mean of 18 ± 14 Bq m−3. Seasonal means were: 15 ± 10 Bq m−3 in winter, 15 ± 12 Bq m−3 in spring, 22 ± 19 Bq m−3 in summer and 17 ± 12 Bq m−3 in autumn. In summer, the average radon activity concentration in the daytime (6–22 h) was 15.2 Bq m−3 and in the night-time (22–6 h) 33.4 Bq m−3. The annual effective dose was 1.83 mSv, with 1.66 mSv from indoor and 0.17 mSv (9%) from outdoor radon. The related doses for the summertime were (mSv): 0.29, 0.24 and 0.05 (18%).


Author(s):  
Eka Djatnika Nugraha ◽  
Masahiro Hosoda ◽  
June Mellawati ◽  
Untara Untara ◽  
Ilsa Rosianna ◽  
...  

The world community has long used natural hot springs for tourist and medicinal purposes. In Indonesia, the province of West Java, which is naturally surrounded by volcanoes, is the main destination for hot spring tourism. This paper is the first report on radon measurements in tourism natural hot spring water in Indonesia as part of radiation protection for public health. The purpose of this paper is to study the contribution of radon doses from natural hot spring water and thereby facilitate radiation protection for public health. A total of 18 water samples were measured with an electrostatic collection type radon monitor (RAD7, Durridge Co., USA). The concentration of radon in natural hot spring water samples in the West Java region, Indonesia ranges from 0.26 to 31 Bq L−1. An estimate of the annual effective dose in the natural hot spring water area ranges from 0.51 to 0.71 mSv with a mean of 0.60 mSv for workers. Meanwhile, the annual effective dose for the public ranges from 0.10 to 0.14 mSv with an average of 0.12 mSv. This value is within the range of the average committed effective dose from inhalation and terrestrial radiation for the general public, 1.7 mSv annually.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-624
Author(s):  
Baghdad Science Journal

In this research the specific activity of natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were determined by sodium iodide enhanced by thallium NaI(TI) detector and assessed the annual effective dose in Dielac 1 and 2 and Nactalia 1 and 2 for children of less than 1 year which are available in Baghdad markets. The specific activity of 40K has the greater value in all the types which is in the range of allowed levels globally that suggested by UNSCEAR. The mean value of annual effective doses were 2.92, 4.005 and 1.6325 mSv/y for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K respectively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 126-140
Author(s):  
C.J. Martin

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) developed effective dose as a quantity related to risk for occupational and public exposure. There was a need for a similar dose quantity linked to risk for making everyday decisions relating to medical procedures. Coefficients were developed to enable the calculation of doses to organs and tissues, and effective doses for procedures in nuclear medicine and radiology during the 1980s and 1990s. Effective dose has provided a valuable tool that is now used in the establishment of guidelines for patient referral and justification of procedures, choice of appropriate imaging techniques, and providing dose data on potential exposure of volunteers for research studies, all of which require the benefits from the procedure to be weighed against the risks. However, the approximations made in the derivation of effective dose are often forgotten, and the uncertainties in calculations of risks are discussed. An ICRP report on protection dose quantities has been prepared that provides more information on the application of effective dose, and concludes that effective dose can be used as an approximate measure of possible risk. A discussion of the way in which it should be used is given here, with applications for which it is considered suitable. Approaches to the evaluation of risk and methods for conveying information on risk are also discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 05004
Author(s):  
Abdulridha S. Younis ◽  
Nada F. Tawfiq

In this work, the activity concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive material including 238U, 232Th, and 40K were measured of some amber rice samples cultivated in southern Baghdad and Al Najaf governorate and used in Baghdad governorate, Iraq in 2018, using gamma-ray spectrometer with NaI (Tl) detector. The results show that the activity concentrations for 238U ranged from (2.68 to 10.81) Bq/kg with average 5.94 Bq/kg, 232Th ranged from (B.D.L to 3.37) Bq/kg with average 2.65 Bq/kg, and for 40K ranged from (4.48 to 35.7) Bq/kg with average 16.84 Bq/kg. The annual effective dose from rice consumption by adults for 238U, 232Th, and 40K ranged from (0.41 to 1.6) x10-5 Sv/y with average 0.9 x10-5 Sv/y, (B.D.L to 0.42) x10-5 Sv/y with average 0.2 x10-5 Sv/y, and (0.17 to 1.2) x10-5 Sv/y with average 0.45 x10-5 Sv/y respectively. All values of the average specific activities are less than the global average values of ICRP, and the annual effective dose from rice consumption by adults was lower than the permissible limit of (1 m Sv/y) recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.


2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Hosoda ◽  
Shinji Tokonami ◽  
Yasutaka Omori ◽  
Tetsuo Ishikawa ◽  
Kazuki Iwaoka

Abstract Due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, the evacuees from Namie Town still cannot reside in the town, and some continue to live in temporary housing units. In this study, the radon activity concentrations were measured at temporary housing facilities, apartments and detached houses in Fukushima Prefecture in order to estimate the annual internal exposure dose of residents. A passive radon–thoron monitor (using a CR-39) and a pulse-type ionization chamber were used to evaluate the radon activity concentration. The average radon activity concentrations at temporary housing units, including a medical clinic, apartments and detached houses, were 5, 7 and 9 Bq m −3 , respectively. Assuming the residents lived in these facilities for one year, the average annual effective doses due to indoor radon in each housing type were evaluated as 0.18, 0.22 and 0.29 mSv, respectively. The average effective doses to all residents in Fukushima Prefecture due to natural and artificial sources were estimated using the results of the indoor radon measurements and published data. The average effective dose due to natural sources for the evacuees from Namie Town was estimated to be 1.9 mSv. In comparison, for the first year after the FDNPP accident, the average effective dose for the evacuees due to artificial sources from the accident was 5.0 mSv. Although residents' internal and external exposures due to natural radionuclides cannot be avoided, it might be possible to lower external exposure due to the artificial radionuclides by changing some behaviors of residents.


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