Measurement of radon concentration in soil gas of the city of Rivne (Ukraine)
Abstract
O.O. Lebed, A.V. Lysytsya, V.O. Myslinchuk, A.M. Pryshchepa, O.Yu. Dejneka
This work presents the results of determining the content of radioactive gas Radon-222 in a soil gas. The measurement was carried out in 48 points which are deployed uniformly on the territory of Rivne city. The city is situated within boundaries of Volyn-Podillya plate at the western slope of the Ukrainian crystalline massif. This region is characterized by the considerable content of uranium in granites. Studies were conducted by the express method with the help of a radonometer "Alpharad PLUS" from June to October 2018. It was established that the radon concentration in a soil gas was low in correspondence with criteria determined by Akerman et al., 1984. The radon content at the depth of 1 m varies within boundaries of 1.4-17.6 kBk/cub.m., with the arithmetic mean value of 11.13 kBk/cub.m., the root-mean square deviation-4.8 kBk/cub.m. It is determined that the radon concentration in a soil gas correlates with the Radium-226 content in a soil; the possibility of transporting radon with a soil gas is established by the soil permeability and climatic conditions - temperature, moisture, pressure, wind velocity; a soil gas which contains radon passes into buildings via cracks or apertures in the foundation due to much lower pressure of air in premises in comparison with the pressure outside buildings; the radon content in a soil gas usually is sufficient to support in the inner building air the radon concentration higher than that established for Ukraine level of action (100 Bk/cub.m.); radon in a soil gas is produced both by upper soil layers, and as a result of its transportation from depths along the system of fractures. It is possible to state that there exists a certain correlation between radon levels in a soil gas, inner building air and death rate from lung cancer of the population in different districts of Rivne city. Therefore, it is expedient to continue the research into the regularities of the distribution of soil radon not only in Rivne city and its suburbs, but also in the whole region with the aim of protecting the population from irradiation on radon dangerous territories and plots.
Keywords: Radon; soil gas; volumetric activity; concentration; risks for population
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