Abstract
A simple experimental scheme is proposed to study the concentration behavior and mechanism of soil radon transport from beneath a building foundation. In addition to the results of the annual monitoring of soil radon concentration and environmental factors, the calculated results of the annual continuous monitoring of the soil radon entry rate into experimental room with high levels of indoor radon are presented. This room is located in the basement of one of the buildings in Haifa, Israel. The correlation between radon behavior and environmental factors is discussed. It is found that the soil radon concentration beneath the building is maximum in the winter season due to very heavy rains. There is an absence of soil radon entry by only convection mechanism into the experimental room for the summer and autumn seasons; however, the indoor radon concentration remains high (about 500 Bq m-3) due to diffusion of soil radon. A regular soil radon entry into the experimental room by convection is observed in the winter and spring seasons with a maximum, approximately at the beginning of the spring season, and therefore, the indoor radon concentration is twice as high as in the summer and autumn seasons. The obtained results indicate that not only convective process but also diffusion of soil radon plays a significant role in the formation of indoor radon.
Highlights
Radon is a dangerous carcinogen [1] constituting 3–14% of lung cancer, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) [2]
The continuous measurements of indoor radon and radon concentrations in the boxes FR and W were conducted since 12 July, 2019, and the periodical measurements of soil radon concentration in the points FL, FR, and W since 24 October 2019
Due to the lockdown of the lab activities caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the annual monitoring of soil radon concentration is not complete; this practically did not worsen the quality of the experimental observations and the corresponding conclusions
Summary
Radon is a dangerous carcinogen [1] constituting 3–14% of lung cancer, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) [2]. The flow of soil radon into the atmosphere or into buildings can vary significantly in space and time. This depends on geological, climatic, and weather conditions [6], as well as on the construction of the building foundation and connections of engineering utilities. The behavior of indoor radon is the result of the two competing and very unstable anthropogenic phenomena: air change and radon entry Both air change rate (ACR) and radon entry rate (RER) should be considered when designing the buildings, especially in radon priority areas. The question arises on how to ensure the calculated (control) RER level is not exceeded using data on the geology (related to soil radon), structure, and materials of the building foundation. There are many publications that provide compelling indirect and model evidence that soil gas convection is responsible for high levels of indoor radon but are we completely sure that there are no buildings in which diffusive transport prevails over the soil radon convection?
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