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Concentration of Radon in Indoor Air in Lalibela, Ethiopia

Received: 28 November 2019     Accepted: 25 December 2019     Published: 14 April 2020
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Abstract

The second largest cause of lung cancer is related to radon (222Rn) and its progenies in our environment. Building materials, such as concrete, contribute to the production of radon gas through the natural decay of 238U from its constituents. This Radon has been recognized as one of the major contributor to the natural radiation and health hazards in the human dwellings. Even lung cancer is expected if it is present in enhanced levels beyond maximum permissible (acceptable) limit. This thesis reports the measurements of indoor radon concentration in the Lalibela dwellings of the Amhara region in Northern Ethiopia using the cellulose nitrate (LR-115 type-II) plastic track detectors. Eleven cellulose nitrate films (LR-115 SSNTD) were distributed over the study area dwellings according to the fraction of the population. The exposure time was started from February 21/2013 and lasted for 90 days. It is found that the values of radon concentration vary from 52.45 to 353.95 Bqm-3 with the average value of 140.64 Bqm-3. The effective dose rates have been calculated and found to vary from 1.38 to 9.34 mSvy-1 with over all mean value of 3.71 mSvy-1. It is also found that mud houses (houses use unbaked bricks) have relatively lower indoor radon as compared to the houses which are made of the baked bricks and cement.

Published in Radiation Science and Technology (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12
Page(s) 7-11
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Radon, Detectors, Indoor Air, Dwellings, Effective Dose, NaOH, Etching

References
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[2] G. Ielsch and D. Thieblemont (2000), “Radon (222Rn) level variations on a regional scale”: U. F. R. Sciences Techniques, LARAAH, 6 av. Le Gorgeu, B. P. 809, 29285 Brest cedex, France.
[3] I. Sulaiman and M. Omar (2010), “Environmental Radon/Thoron Concentration and Radiation Levels in Sarawak and Sabah”; Journal of Nuclear and Related Technology Vol. 7, No. 1.
[4] Burke, O., Long, S., Murphy, P., Organo, C., Fenton, D. and Colgan, P. A (2010), “Estimation of seasonal correction factors through Fourier decomposition analysis a new model” for indoor radon levels in Irish homes, J. Radiol. Prot. 433-443.
[5] ICRP (1993), “Protection against Radon-222 at Home and at Work” Annals of the ICRP Vol. 23 No. 2.
[6] Synnott H. and Fenton D. (2005), “An evaluation of radon Reference Levels and radon measurement techniques and protocols in European countries”; European Radon Research and Industry Collaborative Concerted Action (ERRICCA2), European Commission Contract (FIRICT-2001-20142).
[7] WHO hand book (2007), “International Radon Project Survey on Radon Guidelines”; Programmes and Activities, Geneva, Swizerland.
[8] A. A. Leghrouz, M. M. Abu-Samreh, and A. K. Shehadeh (2017), “Measurements of Indoor Radon Concentration Levels in Dwellings in Bethlehem, Palestine”; Journal of Health Physics Society, vol. 104, pp. 163-167.
[9] M. K. Bhardwaj and M. Shakir Khan (2010), “Radium contents and radon exhalation rates studies in soil samples”; Recent trends in Radiation Physics Research, vol. 6, pp. 114-118.
[10] A. Abbasi and V. Bashiry (2016), “Measurement of radium-226 concentration and dose calculation of drinking water samples in Guilan province of Iran”; International Journal of Radiation Research, Vol. 14, pp. 362-366.
[11] U.S. Saeed-Ur-Rahman (2018), “Measurement of Indoor radon levels; Natural Radioactivity and Lung Cancer Risks Estimation”, Science of the Total Environment, vol. 626, pp. 867–874.
[12] P. Bossew (2003). “The radon emanation power of building materials, soils and rocks”; Application of Radiation Isolation, Vol. 59, PP. 389-392.
[13] M. Shakir Khan, A. H. Naqvi, A. Azam, D. S. Srivastava (2011), “Radium and radon exhalation studies of soil”; International Journal of Radiation Research, vol. 8, pp. 207-210.
[14] P. Szajerski, J. Celinska, H. Bem, A. Gasiorowski, R. Anyszka, P. Dziugan (2019), “Radium content and radon exhalation rate from sulfur polymer composites (SPC) based on mineral fillers”; Journal of Construction and Building Materials, vol. 198, pp. 390–398.
[15] F. A. As-Subaihi, S. R. Harb, T. A. Abdulgabar (2019), “Measurement of Radium Concentration and Radon Exhalation Rates of Soil Samples Collected from Selected Area of Aden Governorate, Yemen, Using Plastic Track Detectors”; International Journal of High Energy Physics, vol. 4, pp. 34-41.
[16] N. Sharma, J. Singh, S. C. Esakki, R. M. Tripathi (2016), “A study of the natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rate in some cements used in India and its radiological significance”; Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Science, vol. 9, pp. 47-56.
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    Tadesse Abate. (2020). Concentration of Radon in Indoor Air in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Radiation Science and Technology, 6(1), 7-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12

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    ACS Style

    Tadesse Abate. Concentration of Radon in Indoor Air in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Radiat. Sci. Technol. 2020, 6(1), 7-11. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12

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    AMA Style

    Tadesse Abate. Concentration of Radon in Indoor Air in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Radiat Sci Technol. 2020;6(1):7-11. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12,
      author = {Tadesse Abate},
      title = {Concentration of Radon in Indoor Air in Lalibela, Ethiopia},
      journal = {Radiation Science and Technology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {7-11},
      doi = {10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rst.20200601.12},
      abstract = {The second largest cause of lung cancer is related to radon (222Rn) and its progenies in our environment. Building materials, such as concrete, contribute to the production of radon gas through the natural decay of 238U from its constituents. This Radon has been recognized as one of the major contributor to the natural radiation and health hazards in the human dwellings. Even lung cancer is expected if it is present in enhanced levels beyond maximum permissible (acceptable) limit. This thesis reports the measurements of indoor radon concentration in the Lalibela dwellings of the Amhara region in Northern Ethiopia using the cellulose nitrate (LR-115 type-II) plastic track detectors. Eleven cellulose nitrate films (LR-115 SSNTD) were distributed over the study area dwellings according to the fraction of the population. The exposure time was started from February 21/2013 and lasted for 90 days. It is found that the values of radon concentration vary from 52.45 to 353.95 Bqm-3 with the average value of 140.64 Bqm-3. The effective dose rates have been calculated and found to vary from 1.38 to 9.34 mSvy-1 with over all mean value of 3.71 mSvy-1. It is also found that mud houses (houses use unbaked bricks) have relatively lower indoor radon as compared to the houses which are made of the baked bricks and cement.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Concentration of Radon in Indoor Air in Lalibela, Ethiopia
    AU  - Tadesse Abate
    Y1  - 2020/04/14
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12
    T2  - Radiation Science and Technology
    JF  - Radiation Science and Technology
    JO  - Radiation Science and Technology
    SP  - 7
    EP  - 11
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5943
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20200601.12
    AB  - The second largest cause of lung cancer is related to radon (222Rn) and its progenies in our environment. Building materials, such as concrete, contribute to the production of radon gas through the natural decay of 238U from its constituents. This Radon has been recognized as one of the major contributor to the natural radiation and health hazards in the human dwellings. Even lung cancer is expected if it is present in enhanced levels beyond maximum permissible (acceptable) limit. This thesis reports the measurements of indoor radon concentration in the Lalibela dwellings of the Amhara region in Northern Ethiopia using the cellulose nitrate (LR-115 type-II) plastic track detectors. Eleven cellulose nitrate films (LR-115 SSNTD) were distributed over the study area dwellings according to the fraction of the population. The exposure time was started from February 21/2013 and lasted for 90 days. It is found that the values of radon concentration vary from 52.45 to 353.95 Bqm-3 with the average value of 140.64 Bqm-3. The effective dose rates have been calculated and found to vary from 1.38 to 9.34 mSvy-1 with over all mean value of 3.71 mSvy-1. It is also found that mud houses (houses use unbaked bricks) have relatively lower indoor radon as compared to the houses which are made of the baked bricks and cement.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Physics Department, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia

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