Outdoor 222Rn behaviour in different areas of Slovakia

Abstract

Radon activity concentration (RAC) in the outdoor atmosphere was monitored in four localities of Slovakia. The distance between the localities were up to 130 km. The localities had a diverse orography, ranging from flatland to hilly terrain. A significant influence of orography and 226Ra and 222Rn content in soil on diurnal time series of RAC was found. A simple approach of determining radon exhalation rate from soil based on the increase of RAC from daily minima to maxima and removal characteristic of radon is presented. A linear dependency between radon exhalation rate from the soil and RAC in the soil gas at a depth of 0.8 m was found for sandy soils.