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Edition of the journal is supported partially by the grant of the Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institute of Health and Illinois University, Chicago.

JOURNAL

ISSN 2077-7477 (Print)
ISSN 2077-7485 (Online)

A journal "Dovkillia ta zdorovia" (Environment & Health) publishes the articles on the problems in the field of medical ecology, hygiene, health protection and ecological safety.

Founder of the Journal:
State Institution "O.M. Marzeiev Institute for Hygiene and Medical Ecology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine"

Frequency of publication:
quarterly

Environment & HealthISSN: 2077-7477 eISSN: 2077-7485
No: 4 (84)   -   2017   -   Pages: 22-26
To the issue of the estimation of radon concentrations for radon protection measures
Aksionov N.V.1, Pavlenko T.O.1, Fryziuk M.A.1, German O.2, Fedorenko O.V.1, Mykhailenko O.V.1
1 State Institution "O.M. Marz³eiev Institute for Public Health of the NAMSU"
2 The Swedish Agency for Radiation Protection, Stockholm, Sweden

ÓÄÊ: 614.876 : 613.5(1-22) : 546.296

ABSTRACT:
Objective: We assessed the indoor radon concentrations of residential buildings, radon concentrations in soil air, and natural radionuclides’ (NORM) concentration in soil for the selection of radon protection measures.

Materials and methods: The measurements of the indoor equivalent equilibratory concentration of 222Rn (EERC) in indoor air of residential buildings, 222Rn concentration in soil air, and the concentration of natural radionuclides (NR) in soil near the selected buildings were included in the studies.
Measurements of indoor radon-222 EERC were carried out with the help of passive track radonometry method with nitrate-cellulose film LR-115 as a detector. Calculation of the tracks was carried out with the help of spark counter.
Measurements of radon-222 concentrations in soil air were carried out by the express method with the help of portable radon monitor Alpha GUARD under field conditions.
To determine the NORM (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) concentration in soil, we applied the gamma-spectrometry method.

Results: The studies were performed in the village of Bakumovka, Rokytne region, Kyiv oblast.
The EERCs in the indoor air of residential buildings were established to be exceeded the hygienic standards of 100 Bq•m-3 in 71 % of cases. The range of indoor EERC made up from 14 Bq•m-3 to 521 Bq•m-3, the arithmetic mean was 159 Bq•m-3, the geometric mean was 134 Bq•m-3 at a standard deviation of 93 Bq•m-3.
Radon concentration values in soil air were 13-32 kBq•m-3. 226Ra concentrations accounted for 10-34 Bq•kg-1 at soil surface and 22-37 Bq•kg-1 at depth.
Thus, the soil at the location of the buildings belongs to the area with a low radon risk (< 50 kBq•m 3) and low concentration of 226Ra (< 50 Bq•kg-1).
So, the high levels of 222Rn in residential buildings are due to their design features.
For the reduction of the population’s exposure in this region, the radon protection measures, directed on the correction of buildings’ design features, may be recommended.

KEYWORDS:
indoor radon, soil air, NORM.
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