A study on measurement and analysis of radon-222 (uranium series) emitted to the atmosphere from construction materials (cement block, kaolin brick, and gypsum board) in living environment

The purpose of this study was to measure, compare, and analyze the air concentration of radon that was emitted to the atmosphere from construction materials such as cement brick, tile, red clay tile, and gypsum tile. The study method was to use continuous radon monitoring equipment (RTM 1688-2) to measure concentrations of radon and thoron contained in brick, tile, red clay tile, and gypsum tile. According to the measurement results, the cement brick among the four samples showed the highest measurement value for radon, while the red clay tile showed the highest measurement value for thoron. When the radon emission concentration was estimated based on materials required for construction per unit area (3.3 m2) in an actual construction, the cement brick had the highest measurement values for radon and thoron. This study confirmed the degree of radon emission from construction materials. The purpose of this study was also to suggest a method to examine the effects of radon and reduce the dose of personal radiation exposure. It is believed that the government should be active in publicizing and managing use of construction materials that have lower levels of radon emission.