Radon environmental hazard assessment for residents of the city of the western region of Ukraine

Abstract

The results of the complex determination by the express method of the volumetric activity of 222Rn in the premises' air of Rivne city are given. The geometric mean value of the volumetric activity of 222Rn in the studied premises (600 basements, semi-basements, and first floors of residential buildings) of Rivne is 200 Bq/m3, the geometric standard deviation is 0.8. Namely, we determined the average geometric value of the volumetric activity 365 Bq/m3 in 185 basements, 161 Bq/m3 in 215 semi-basements, and 127 Bq/m3 in the living quarters of the first floors. We made a comparative analysis of experimentally obtained values of radon flux density from the soil of the city (the city was divided into 48 subdistricts) with statistics on mortality from lung cancer; mortality in these subdistricts was recorded for a certain period of time.

Keywords

• radon
• premises
• radon flux density
• air
• volumetric activity
• lung cancer
• soil.