Active Monitoring of Residential Radon in Rome: A Pilot Study

Abstract

We present an overview of the potential of active monitoring techniques to investigate the many factors affecting the concentration of radon in houses. We conducted two experiments measuring radon concentration in 25 apartments in Rome and suburban areas for two weeks and in three apartments in the historic center for several months. The reference levels of 300 and 100 Bq/m3 are overcome in 17% and 60% of the cases, respectively, and these percentages rise to 20% and 76% for average overnight radon (more relevant for residents’ exposure). Active detectors allowed us to identify seasonal radon fluctuations, dependent on indoor-to-outdoor temperature, and how radon travels from the ground to upper floors. High levels of radon are not limited to the lowest floors when the use of heating and ventilation produces massive convection of air. Lifestyle habits also reflect in the different values of gas concentration measured on different floors of the same building or in distinct rooms of the same apartment, which cannot be ascribed to the characteristics of the premises. However, the finding that high residential radon levels tend to concentrate in the historic center proves the influence of factors such as building age, construction materials, and geogenic radon.