Radon exhalation rates in the soil samples of Dharamshala region of Himachal Pradesh NW Himalaya, India and their comparison with developing a theoretical model

Abstract

Using radon exhalation rate and radium content of the soil, various other factors such as indoor radon concentration, level of radon in drinking water can also be estimated. In present study a simple model is devised on the basis of roger model and some other previous works in this field. The feasibility of the model is tested on the basis of the measurement of radon exhalation rates at 25 sites in Dharamshala area of Himachal Pradesh, NW Himalaya India using LR -115 Type II Solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD’s). The average measured values of Area Exhalation rate =1.32±0.2 Bq m−2h−1 and Mass exhalation rate= 0.059±0.009 Bq kg−1h−1, whereas average radium contents were found to be 6.29±0.88 Bq kg−1. Average estimated exhalation rate= 3.84x10−4 Bq m−2s−1 whereas average measured value of exhalation rates=3.67 x10−4 Bq m−2s−1. The correlation coefficient between the two set of values (Experimental and theoretical) is calculated to 0.96.