Radiation Protection and Environment (Jan 2021)

One year of 222Rn concentration at a typical rural site in South India

  • K Charan Kumar,
  • Nagaraja Kamsali

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/rpe.rpe_21_21
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 44, no. 2
pp. 73 – 78

Abstract

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The simultaneous measurements of atmospheric radon, ambient gamma radiations dose, and relevant meteorological parameters were carried out at the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Gadanki, India (13.459° N, 79.175° E) during June 2013–May 2014 are analyzed and presented. The results show that radon strongly correlates with temperature, relative humidity, and a weak correlation with air pressure, ambient gamma dose during fair weather days. Radon's well-defined monthly variability is observed, with the highest during winter and lowest during monsoon season. The fast Fourier transform analysis revealed a hidden memory in variations in radon activity with prominent peaks at 24 h and 12 h, indicating the influence of atmospheric stability on the abundance of radon in air. About 99% of radon activity lies below 70 Bq/m3 with a mean value of 11.81 ± 4.83 Bq/m3, and about 99% ambient gamma dose levels range from 140 to 240 nSv/h at NARL with a mean value of 192.17 ± 17.43 nSv/h. The ambient gamma dose levels are well within limits prescribed by the UNSCEAR.

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