Measurement of Radon Concentration of Air Samples and Estimating Radiation Dose from Radon in SARI Province

Abstract

Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Radon is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water. The amount of radon in the air is measured in "picocuries per liter of air," or "pCi/L." There are many kinds of low-cost "do-it-yourself" radon test kits you can get through the mail and in some hardware stores and other retail outlets. In this study to measure radon in homes in the province of Sari by dosimeters DOSEman (SARAD GmbH company). Population of the city of Sari 495,369 people and the urban population of village of forty to sixty is the degree of concentration of 116.5 people/ km 2. A percentage of the total household population of Sari in areas geographically different samples is selected. Radon measuring in four different seasons (in one year) at home for sampling was done. Sensors 60-minute room bedroom or living at an altitude of 50 to 90 cm from the floor, away from windows and sunlight placed howe dose rate and radon gas in homes has been measured. Amount of radon in your home in spring 28.615Bq m-3, in summer Bq m-3 27.20, in autumn 27.07Bq m-3 in winter Bq m-3 36.95 measures. Both dose levels in spring .0032 μSv, in the summer 0.026 μSv, in the autumn 0.037μSv in winter 0.056 μSv is measured. Annual dose equivalent to approximately 0.0151μSv / year .Radon measurement results show that the average radon concentration is higher in winter than other seasons. This difference could be due to lack of air movement and stillness, and the dose of radon indoors in winter.