Abstract
Radon poses significant health risks. Thus, the continuous monitoring of radon concentrations in buildings’ indoor air is relevant, particularly in schools. Low-cost sensors devices are emerging as promising technologies, although their reliability is still unknown. Therefore, this is the first study aiming to evaluate the performance of low-cost sensors devices for short-term continuous radon monitoring in the indoor air of nursery and primary school buildings. Five classrooms of different age groups (infants, pre-schoolers and primary school children) were selected from one nursery and one primary school in Porto (Portugal). Radon indoor concentrations were continuously monitored using one reference instrument (Radim 5B) and three commercially available low-cost sensors devices (Airthings Wave and RandonEye: RD200 and RD200P2) for short-term sampling (2–4 consecutive days) in each studied classroom. Radon concentrations were in accordance with the typical profiles found in other studies (higher on weekends and non-occupancy periods than on occupancy). Both RadonEye low-cost sensors devices presented similar profiles with Radim 5B and good performance indices (R2 reaching 0.961), while the Airthings Wave behavior was quite different. These results seem to indicate that the RadonEye low-cost sensors devices studied can be used in short-term radon monitoring, being promising tools for actively reducing indoor radon concentrations.
Highlights
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive natural gas that results from the decay of uranium in soil, rocks and building-based materials [1]
In order to use this commercially available, low-cost technology for radon monitoring and, to improve the indoor air quality, the present study mainly aimed to evaluate the performance of low-cost sensors devices for short-term continuous radon monitoring in the indoor air of nursery and primary school buildings in Porto (Portugal)
The Airthings Wave presented only a weak to moderate performance, with R2 varying between 0.0102 and 0.679 and root mean square error (RMSE) > 19.5 Bq/m3. These results reduce the confidence in using Airthings Wave as a reliable indicator of indoor air radon in short-term monitoring
Summary
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive natural gas that results from the decay of uranium in soil, rocks and building-based materials [1]. It is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that travels through the soil and enters buildings through foundation fissures [2,3]. Odorless and tasteless gas that travels through the soil and enters buildings through foundation fissures [2,3] In indoor environments, such as homes, schools and office buildings, radon reaches epidemiologically significant levels, which do not occur outdoors [4,5]. Children are more susceptible to the carcinogenic effects of ionizing radiation than adults, including natural radiation [11], due to the morphometric differences between their lungs, as well as higher respiration rates [12]
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