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Radon, Thoron and Progeny Measured in Urban Health Centres and the Resulting Radiation Doses to Doctors, Nurses and Patients from the Inhalation of Air

Received: 18 April 2015    Accepted: 29 April 2015    Published: 11 May 2015
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Abstract

Doctors and nurses spent about 8 hours a day inside urban health centres examining a large number of patients. To assess radiation dose due to the attached and unattached fractions of the short-lived alpha-emitting radon decay products from the inhalation of air by working personnel and patients, concentrations of these radionuclides as well as those of radon and thoron gases were measured in indoor air of different health centres in the city of Marrakech (Morocco) by means of CR-39 and LR-115 type II solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). Committed equivalent doses per hour of exposure due to the attached and unattached fractions of 218Po and 214Po radon short-lived progeny were evaluated in different tissues of the respiratory tract of individuals from the inhalation of air inside the studied health centres. The influence of the activity of the attached and unattached fractions of 218Po and 214Po and mass of the tissue on the committed equivalent doses per hour of exposure was investigated. Annual committed effective doses due to the attached and unattached fractions of218Po and 214Po radon short-lived progeny from the inhalation of air by doctors, nurses and patients inside the studied hospitals were determined. A maximum value of 7.1 mSv y-1 was found for doctors working 40 hours per week.

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.15
Page(s) 139-151
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), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Radon, Thoron and Their Progenies, Attached and Unattached Fractions, Health Centres, Nuclear Track Detectors, Human Respiratory Tract, Radiation Dose Assessment

References
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[13] M.A. Misdaq, H. Ezzahery, J. Lamine,“Influence of the building material and ventilation rate on the concentration of radon, thoron and their progenies in dwelling rooms using SSNTD and Monte Carlo simulation” J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 2002, Vol.252, pp67-74.
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  • APA Style

    M. A. Misdaq, A. Matrane, J. Ouguidi. (2015). Radon, Thoron and Progeny Measured in Urban Health Centres and the Resulting Radiation Doses to Doctors, Nurses and Patients from the Inhalation of Air. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 4(3), 139-151. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.15

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    ACS Style

    M. A. Misdaq; A. Matrane; J. Ouguidi. Radon, Thoron and Progeny Measured in Urban Health Centres and the Resulting Radiation Doses to Doctors, Nurses and Patients from the Inhalation of Air. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2015, 4(3), 139-151. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.15

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    AMA Style

    M. A. Misdaq, A. Matrane, J. Ouguidi. Radon, Thoron and Progeny Measured in Urban Health Centres and the Resulting Radiation Doses to Doctors, Nurses and Patients from the Inhalation of Air. Am J Environ Prot. 2015;4(3):139-151. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.15,
      author = {M. A. Misdaq and A. Matrane and J. Ouguidi},
      title = {Radon, Thoron and Progeny Measured in Urban Health Centres and the Resulting Radiation Doses to Doctors, Nurses and Patients from the Inhalation of Air},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {4},
      number = {3},
      pages = {139-151},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20150403.15},
      abstract = {Doctors and nurses spent about 8 hours a day inside urban health centres examining a large number of patients. To assess radiation dose due to the attached and unattached fractions of the short-lived alpha-emitting radon decay products from the inhalation of air by working personnel and patients, concentrations of these radionuclides as well as those of radon and thoron gases were measured in indoor air of different health centres in the city of Marrakech (Morocco) by means of CR-39 and LR-115 type II solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). Committed equivalent doses per hour of exposure due to the attached and unattached fractions of 218Po and 214Po radon short-lived progeny were evaluated in different tissues of the respiratory tract of individuals from the inhalation of air inside the studied health centres. The influence of the activity of the attached and unattached fractions of 218Po and 214Po and mass of the tissue on the committed equivalent doses per hour of exposure was investigated. Annual committed effective doses due to the attached and unattached fractions of218Po and 214Po radon short-lived progeny from the inhalation of air by doctors, nurses and patients inside the studied hospitals were determined. A maximum value of 7.1 mSv y-1 was found for doctors working 40 hours per week.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AB  - Doctors and nurses spent about 8 hours a day inside urban health centres examining a large number of patients. To assess radiation dose due to the attached and unattached fractions of the short-lived alpha-emitting radon decay products from the inhalation of air by working personnel and patients, concentrations of these radionuclides as well as those of radon and thoron gases were measured in indoor air of different health centres in the city of Marrakech (Morocco) by means of CR-39 and LR-115 type II solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). Committed equivalent doses per hour of exposure due to the attached and unattached fractions of 218Po and 214Po radon short-lived progeny were evaluated in different tissues of the respiratory tract of individuals from the inhalation of air inside the studied health centres. The influence of the activity of the attached and unattached fractions of 218Po and 214Po and mass of the tissue on the committed equivalent doses per hour of exposure was investigated. Annual committed effective doses due to the attached and unattached fractions of218Po and 214Po radon short-lived progeny from the inhalation of air by doctors, nurses and patients inside the studied hospitals were determined. A maximum value of 7.1 mSv y-1 was found for doctors working 40 hours per week.
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Author Information
  • Nuclear Physics and Techniques Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, University of Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco (URAC-15 Research Unit Associated to the CNRST, Rabat, Morocco)

  • Nuclear Physics and Techniques Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, University of Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco (URAC-15 Research Unit Associated to the CNRST, Rabat, Morocco); Nuclear Medicine Service, Mohamed VI University Hospital Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco

  • Nuclear Physics and Techniques Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, University of Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco (URAC-15 Research Unit Associated to the CNRST, Rabat, Morocco)

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