Radiological assessment subjected to outdoor radon and thoron concentrations and terrestrial gamma radiation measurements in Perak Malaysia.

The concentrations of radon, thoron and terrestrial gamma radiation were measured to evaluate the outdoor effective dose. The outdoor radon activity concentration ranged from 5.79 to 5110 ± 46.36 Bq m-3, with a mean of 320.03 Bq m-3 which is higher than the EPA level of 14.8 Bq m-3. The range of the thoron activity concentration outdoor was from 0.00 to 4226.7 ± 58.5 Bq m-3, with a mean of 226.1 Bq m-3 which was above the UNSCEAR recommended level of 10 Bq m-3. The terrestrial gamma radiation dose rates range was from 98.31 to 3769.71 nGy h-1 with a mean of 446.27 nGy h-1. The effective dose contribution from radon exposures in the study was estimated to be 3.2 ± 0.5 mSv y-1 is about 84% total annual effective dose received by the population in those areas. The estimated thoron and gamma dose contributions (15%, and 1% respectively) were not significant. The outdoor doses for thoron and gamma were lower than the ICRP (2007) value of 1 mSv. The total annual outdoor effective dose with an occupancy factor of 1825 h (5 h day-1) was estimated to be within the range of 0.30-551.41 ± 0.65 mSv, with a mean of 3.75 mSv which is a little higher than the world average of 2.4 mSv.

Soil gas radon and soil permeability assessment: Mapping radon risk areas in Perak State, Malaysia.

In this study geogenic radon potential (GRP) mapping was carried out on the bases of field radon in soil gas concentration and soil gas permeability measurements by considering the corresponding geological formations. The spatial pattern of soil gas radon concentration, soil permeability, and GRP and the relationship between geological formations and these parameters was studied by performing detailed spatial analysis. The radon activity concentration in soil gas ranged from 0.11 to 434.5 kBq m-3 with a mean of 18.96 kBq m-3, and a standard deviation was 55.38 kBq m-3. The soil gas permeability ranged from 5.2×10-14 to 5.2×10-12 m2, with a mean of 5.65×10-13 m2. The GRP values were computed from the 222Rn activity concentration and soil gas permeability data. The range of GRP values was from 0.04 to 154.08. Locations on igneous granite rock geology were characterized by higher soil radon gas activity and higher GRP, making them radon-prone areas according to international standards. The other study locations fall between the low to medium risk, except for areas with high soil permeability, which are not internationally classified as radon prone. A GRP map was created displaying radon-prone areas for the study location using Kriging/Cokriging, based on in situ and predicted measured values. The GRP map assists in human health risk assessment and risk reduction since it indicates the potential of the source of radon and can serve as a vital tool for radon combat planning.