Radon migration in the soils of the Irno Valley (Southern Italy) inferred from radioactive disequilibrium

Abstract

Radon migration along vertical profiles in the soils of Irno River alluvial Valley (Southern Italy) was studied using radioactive disequilibrium between 226 Ra and 210 Pb. Fractional Radon loss, migration length, diffusion and emanation coefficient and Radon flux density were determined. Our results are in agreement with a migra- tion model by simple diffusion. The migration parameters are within typical values, except the Radon flux density, which is about one order of magnitude higher than the values reported in literature. The values of fractional Radon loss are sensitive to changes in the physical properties of the soil.

Keywords

• Radon
• disequilibrium
• Radon migration