Estimation of Radon/Thoron and their progeny concentration in some dwellings and exhalation rates from soils of Samana city, Patiala

Abstract

The study of indoor pollutants and radioactive nuclides imposes importance on human health as we spend most of our time indoors. Out of all the natural radioactive elements, Radon-222 and Radon220 are present in large abundance indoors. Both are radioactive and decay to various short-lived progenies by emitting high-energy alpha particles, so inhalation of such gases can harm the human body in various ways. In the present report, the concentration of Rn-222 and Rn-220 and its progenies are estimated from some dwellings of Samana city of Patiala district, Punjab. Pin-hole dosimeters with DRPS and DTPS were employed in 15 houses in the study area to measure indoor Rn-222 and Rn-220 concentrations. The concentration of Rn-222 ranges between 401.96 Bq/m3 and 27.36 Bq/m3 with mean value of 138.82 Bq/m3, and the concentration of Rn-220 varies from 222.2 Bq/ m3 to 50 Bq/m3 with the mean weight of 131.12 Bq/m3. The average inhalation dose was also calculated from the results and was found to have an average value of 2.19 mSv per year. The average weight of radon concentration was below the ICRP recommendation of 200-300 Bq/m3 but the value is above these limits at some locations. Radon and thoron emission rates from soil samples near to the dwellings was also calculated.