Abstract
One of the requirements of EU-BSS (European Basic Safety Standards) is the design and implementation of a National Radon Action Plan in the member states. This should define, as accurately as possible, areas of risk for the presence of radon gas (222Rn) in homes and workplaces. The concept used by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), the body responsible for nuclear safety and radiation protection in Spain, to identify “radon priority areas” is that of radon potential. This paper establishes a different methodology from that used by the CSN, using the same study variables (indoor radon measurements, gamma radiation exposure data, and geological information) to prepare a radon potential map that improves the definition of the areas potentially exposed to radon in Spain. The main advantage of this methodology is that by using simple data processing the definition of these areas is improved. In addition, the application of this methodology can improve the delimitation of radon priority areas and can be applied within the cartographic system used by the European Commission-Joint Research Center (EC-JRC) in the representation of different environmental parameters.
Highlights
To prepare a radon potential map that improves the definition of the areas potentially exposed to radon in Spain
Numerous studies have shown that there is a clear correlation between indoor radon exposure and the risk of developing lung cancer [1,2]
The bulk of these 9500 measurements were collected by the University of Cantabria through different projects sponsored by CSN according to the internal location protocol of the Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory of the University of Cantabria (LaRUC), created using the indications of the CSN Safety Guide 11.01 [39]
Summary
To prepare a radon potential map that improves the definition of the areas potentially exposed to radon in Spain. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a reference level of 100 Bq/m3 annual average radon concentration to initiate action plans to minimize health hazards due to indoor radon exposure. If this level cannot be reached under the countryspecific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq/m3 , which represents approximately 10 mSv per year [4]. The interest in radon exposure maps is because the concentration of radon in buildings varies according to their geographical location This variability is due to a large number of factors that affect the presence of radon indoors. An overview of indoor radon mapping in Europe [9,10] showed the heterogeneity of the data: each country used different sampling strategies, measurement techniques, and representations of the data obtained
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