Exposure Due to Indoor Radon in Bulgarian Schools

Ivanova, Kremena and Chobanova, Nina and Kunovska, Bistra and Djounova, Jana and Stojanovska, Zdenka (2022) Exposure Due to Indoor Radon in Bulgarian Schools. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 22 (12). ISSN 2071-1409

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Abstract

Indoor radon exposure is the largest contributor to population dose from natural sources.
Radon as a natural radioactive gas could accumulate to harmful levels in buildings, such as homes
and buildings with public access. In order to assess the exposure due to radon in school the results
of indoor radon measurements in 55 state school buildings in 7 municipalities located in one
district in southern Bulgaria are considered in this paper. The survey was carried out with passive
CR-39 etched track detectors. Radon concentrations ranged from 17 to 868 Bq m–3
, with a
geometric mean of 117 Bq m–3 and a geometric standard deviation of 1.78. The findings revealed
that in 30% of the measured buildings the radon concentration was higher than the national
reference level of 300 Bq m–3
. The statistically significant difference in indoor radon concentrations
between municipalities (KW, р < 0.001) was obtained. The research was also focused on parameters
affecting radon concentration levels such as type of room and floor location. The estimated annual
effective dose of 0.39 to 1.07 mSv y–1
, applying the ICRP and UNSCEAR methodology, was calculated
for students. The results of the measurements were provided to the administrative authorities
and measures were proposed to improve the air in school buildings with high radon levels.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Natural sciences > Physical sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Medical Science
Depositing User:	Zdenka Stojanovska
Date Deposited:	03 Feb 2023 09:55
Last Modified:	03 Feb 2023 09:55
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/31262

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