Determination of equivalent dose rates and committed effective doses in the respiratory system from the inhalation of radon decay products by using SSNTD and a dosimetric compartmental model.

Abstract

Alpha activities per unit volume, due to radon (222Rn), thoron (220Rn) and their progenies, were evaluated inside different dwelling rooms by using CR-39 and LR-115 II solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD) and calculating their mean critical angles of etching. The influence of the ventilation rate and nature of the building material has been investigated. Equivalent dose rates and annual committed effective doses due to the inhalation of radon decay products have been determined in the respiratory system by using a dosimetric compartmental model. The influence of the deposition fraction, residual time and activity absorbed fraction of the respiratory system compartments for the radon daughters has been studied.