Radon Exhalation Rate from Building Materials Using CR-39 Nuclear Track Detector

Humans are exposed to radiological hazards from natural radiation sources that exist mainly in the earth’s crust. Radon is a noble gas and is formed by the decay of 226Ra, which is one of the nuclides formed in the disintegration series from 238U. Building materials are considered as one of the major sources of radon in the indoor environment. Radon is one of the indoor sources that cause radiological health risk. To study radon exhalation rate, samples of sand, gravel, stone, cement, granite, marble, ashlar, ceramic tile and bricks were collected from Manisa and Izmir provinces of Turkey. The radon exhalation rates (in terms of mass and surface area) for these materials were also calculated by using solid-state nuclear track detector (CR-39). The mass and surface exhalation rates are calculated by following the radon activity growth as a function of time. These values were also compared with literature values.

[1]  Z. Žunić,et al.  Internal exposure from building materials exhaling (222)Rn and (220)Rn as compared to external exposure due to their natural radioactivity content. , 2010, Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine.

[2]  Matiullah,et al.  Radon exhalation and its dependence on moisture content from samples of soil and building materials , 2008 .

[3]  Harmanjit Singh,et al.  Radon exhalation rate and uranium estimation study of some soil and rock samples from Tusham ring complex, India using SSNTD technique , 2008 .

[4]  K. Zahraman,et al.  Natural radioactivity measurements in building materials in Southern Lebanon. , 2008, Journal of environmental radioactivity.

[5]  Fazal-ur-Rehman,et al.  Correlation between radon exhalation and radium content in granite samples used as construction material in Saudi Arabia , 2005 .

[6]  M. Kullab.  Assessment of radon-222 concentrations in buildings, building materials, water and soil in Jordan. , 2005, Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine.

[7]  W. Arafa.  Specific activity and hazards of granite samples collected from the Eastern Desert of Egypt. , 2004, Journal of environmental radioactivity.

[8]  S. Stoulos,et al.  Assessment of natural radiation exposure and radon exhalation from building materials in Greece. , 2003, Journal of environmental radioactivity.

[9]  H. S. Virk,et al.  Exhalation rate study of radon/thoron in some building materials , 2001 .

[10]  M. Sharaf,et al.  Natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rates in building materials used in Egypt , 1999 .

[11]  E. Borham,et al.  A study of the radon emitted from various building materials using alpha track detectors , 1997 .