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Radon Concentration and Its Ventilation Dependence Measured in Some Dwellings of Debresina, Ethiopia

Received: 21 October 2020    Accepted: 4 November 2020    Published: 19 November 2020
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Abstract

Ionizing radiation has been proved a major stress that can induce carcinogenesis. Among these ionizing radiations the most significant one is radon which is a source of 43% of the annual dose averaged over the population of the world. If it is present in enhanced level beyond maximum permissible limit, it may cause lung cancer. In the present work a set of indoor radon measurements has been carried out in some houses of Debresina district, Ethiopia using cellulose nitrate LR-115 type-II plastic track detectors in the bare mode. The detectors were fixed in the houses for one month to be exposed with indoor radon from February to March 2018. Etching of detectors was done with 2.5 N NaOH solution for 75 minutes at 60°C in the Soil physics laboratory and counting of tracks recorded was done using optical microscope in the Department of Earth Science, Bahirdar University. It is found that the value of radon concentration in those dwellings ranges from 12.24 to 251.94 Bq/m3 with an average of 102.87 Bq/m3 and standard deviation of 81.97 Bq/m3. The annual effective dose rates are found to vary from 0.31 to 6.29 mSv y-1 with an average of 2.57 mSv y-1 and a standard deviation of 2.05 mSv y-1. The indoor radon concentration has been found to have strong correlation with the ventilation condition. Ventilated houses have shown less radon concentration than unventilated houses. Though most of the indoor radon concentration values measured are well within the recommended action level of ICRP, more than half of these values are above the new recommended level of WHO.

Published in World Journal of Applied Physics (Volume 5, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11
Page(s) 34-38
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

Ionizing Radiations, LR-115 Type-II, Radon Concentration, Annual Effective Dose Rate, Ventilation Condition

References
[1] Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA). (2002, March). RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARD (Radiation Protection Series no 1). Retrieved from: https://www.arpansa.gov.au/sites/default/files/legacy/pubs/rps/rps3.pdf?acsf_files_redirect
[2] IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). (2004, February). ”Radiation, People and the Environment”. IAEA/PI/A.75 / 04-00391.
[3] James E. Martin. (2006). Physics for Radiation Protection (pp. 288-296). Second Edition.
[4] EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). (1987, September). Radon Reference Manual. Office of Radiation Programs Washington DC 20460, EPA 520/1-87-20.
[5] Maregu N, Nebere L, Abeje N, Dessalegn B, Yibka T. (2019). Investigation of radon concentrations and effective radium content in soils and dwellings of Wolaita Sodo town, Ethiopia. J Radiat Cancer Res 10: 66-71. DOI: 10.4103/jrcr.jrcr_20_18.
[6] Nero A. V. Jr. (1989). Earth, Air, Radon and Home. Physics Today. Vol. 42, 42 No 4 (April, 1989), page 32-39, ISSN 0031-9228.
[7] Castren O., Voutilainen, A. Winqist, K. and Miikelainen, I. (1985). Studies of high indoor radon areas in Finland, Sci. Total. Environ. 45, 311. DOI - 10.1016/0048-9697(85)90232-3.
[8] Wei Han and K. N. Yu. (2010). Ionizing Radiation, DNA Double Strand Break and Mutation. vol 4, ISBN 978-1-61728-764-0.
[9] Singh A. K., Jojo P. J., Khan A. J., Prasad R. and Ramachandran T. V. (1997). Calibration of detector and measurement of radon exhalation rates from soil sample, Radiat. Prot. Environ. 20 (3): 129-133, ISSN 0253-6897.
[10] United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. (2000). Annex B. UNSCEAR Report to the General Assembly. 1, UN, New York.
[11] WHO (world health organization). (2009). handbook on indoor radon: A public health perspective. Page 3-15, ISBN 978 92 4 154767 3.
[12] ICRP. (2007). The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 103, Ann. ICRP 37 (2-4). DOI: 10.1016/j.icrp.2007.10.003.
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  • APA Style

    Abiy Tamiru Beshah, Tesfaye Dagne Muhe. (2020). Radon Concentration and Its Ventilation Dependence Measured in Some Dwellings of Debresina, Ethiopia. World Journal of Applied Physics, 5(3), 34-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11

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    ACS Style

    Abiy Tamiru Beshah; Tesfaye Dagne Muhe. Radon Concentration and Its Ventilation Dependence Measured in Some Dwellings of Debresina, Ethiopia. World J. Appl. Phys. 2020, 5(3), 34-38. doi: 10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11

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    AMA Style

    Abiy Tamiru Beshah, Tesfaye Dagne Muhe. Radon Concentration and Its Ventilation Dependence Measured in Some Dwellings of Debresina, Ethiopia. World J Appl Phys. 2020;5(3):34-38. doi: 10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11,
      author = {Abiy Tamiru Beshah and Tesfaye Dagne Muhe},
      title = {Radon Concentration and Its Ventilation Dependence Measured in Some Dwellings of Debresina, Ethiopia},
      journal = {World Journal of Applied Physics},
      volume = {5},
      number = {3},
      pages = {34-38},
      doi = {10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wjap.20200503.11},
      abstract = {Ionizing radiation has been proved a major stress that can induce carcinogenesis. Among these ionizing radiations the most significant one is radon which is a source of 43% of the annual dose averaged over the population of the world. If it is present in enhanced level beyond maximum permissible limit, it may cause lung cancer. In the present work a set of indoor radon measurements has been carried out in some houses of Debresina district, Ethiopia using cellulose nitrate LR-115 type-II plastic track detectors in the bare mode. The detectors were fixed in the houses for one month to be exposed with indoor radon from February to March 2018. Etching of detectors was done with 2.5 N NaOH solution for 75 minutes at 60°C in the Soil physics laboratory and counting of tracks recorded was done using optical microscope in the Department of Earth Science, Bahirdar University. It is found that the value of radon concentration in those dwellings ranges from 12.24 to 251.94 Bq/m3 with an average of 102.87 Bq/m3 and standard deviation of 81.97 Bq/m3. The annual effective dose rates are found to vary from 0.31 to 6.29 mSv y-1 with an average of 2.57 mSv y-1 and a standard deviation of 2.05 mSv y-1. The indoor radon concentration has been found to have strong correlation with the ventilation condition. Ventilated houses have shown less radon concentration than unventilated houses. Though most of the indoor radon concentration values measured are well within the recommended action level of ICRP, more than half of these values are above the new recommended level of WHO.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Radon Concentration and Its Ventilation Dependence Measured in Some Dwellings of Debresina, Ethiopia
    AU  - Abiy Tamiru Beshah
    AU  - Tesfaye Dagne Muhe
    Y1  - 2020/11/19
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11
    T2  - World Journal of Applied Physics
    JF  - World Journal of Applied Physics
    JO  - World Journal of Applied Physics
    SP  - 34
    EP  - 38
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2637-6008
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20200503.11
    AB  - Ionizing radiation has been proved a major stress that can induce carcinogenesis. Among these ionizing radiations the most significant one is radon which is a source of 43% of the annual dose averaged over the population of the world. If it is present in enhanced level beyond maximum permissible limit, it may cause lung cancer. In the present work a set of indoor radon measurements has been carried out in some houses of Debresina district, Ethiopia using cellulose nitrate LR-115 type-II plastic track detectors in the bare mode. The detectors were fixed in the houses for one month to be exposed with indoor radon from February to March 2018. Etching of detectors was done with 2.5 N NaOH solution for 75 minutes at 60°C in the Soil physics laboratory and counting of tracks recorded was done using optical microscope in the Department of Earth Science, Bahirdar University. It is found that the value of radon concentration in those dwellings ranges from 12.24 to 251.94 Bq/m3 with an average of 102.87 Bq/m3 and standard deviation of 81.97 Bq/m3. The annual effective dose rates are found to vary from 0.31 to 6.29 mSv y-1 with an average of 2.57 mSv y-1 and a standard deviation of 2.05 mSv y-1. The indoor radon concentration has been found to have strong correlation with the ventilation condition. Ventilated houses have shown less radon concentration than unventilated houses. Though most of the indoor radon concentration values measured are well within the recommended action level of ICRP, more than half of these values are above the new recommended level of WHO.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Physics, Bahirdar University, Bahirdar, Ethiopia

  • Department of Physics, Bahirdar University, Bahirdar, Ethiopia

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