[Radon 222 in drinking water from Jelenia Gora area]. / Radon 222Rn w wodzie do picia z obszaru Jeleniej Góry.

In the last decade one can observe an increasing interest in the study of 222Rn levels in water samples. In Poland, radon concentration is measured continuously and routinely only in mineral and medical waters from springs located in the area of health resorts in the Sudety Mountains. The reason for these studies is the fact that waters present in this area have a high radon concentration. Radon--222 concentration in surface water, wells water and tap water in Jelenia Góra has been quantitative determined. The measurements were performed using the alpha liquid scintillation counting method. "Grabarów", the main waterworks in Jelenia Góra is supplied with the mixed water consisting from the surface water (river Bóbr), which main characteristic is low radon concentration (below 11 Bq/l), and from ground water with the radon concentration from 179.6 Bq/l to 289.0 Bq/l in it. Also, waterworks "Ceglana", "Pod Karpaczem", "Sniezne Kotly" is supplied with the ground water have a high radon concentration: from 93.2 Bq/l to 216.4 Bq/l. The next waterworks: "Podgórzyn", "Lesniczówka", "Kamienna Wieza", "Górzyniec" and "Centrum-Jelchem" is supplied with the surface water in which the radon concentration is low: from 1.1 Bq/l to 7.5 Bq/l. The annual effective dose to an individual from an intake of radon-222 via ingestion of drinking water is calculated by the Crawford-Brown's biokinetic model. In the present study it was found to be about 0.9 mSv/y (222Rn concentration level in drinking waters about 200 Bq/l).

[Contents of radon 222Rn in drinking water of Sweradów Zdrój and Czerniawa Zdrój]. / Zawartosc radonu 222Rn w wodzie do picia w Swieradowie Zdroju i Czerniawie Zdroju.

Radon-222 concentration in surface water, wells and tap water in Swieradów Zdrój and in Czerniawa Zdrój has been quantitative determined. The measurements were performed using the alpha liquid scintillation counting method. Radon arithmetic mean for water of individual wells in Swieradów Zdrój was found to be 438.5 Bq/l within the range between 42 Bq/ and 1095 Bq/l. The appropriate mean value for water of individual wells Czerniawa Zdrój was 165 Bq/l within the range from 25.8 Bq/l and 402.4 Bq/l. Waterworks in Czerniawa Zdrój is supplied with the surface water in which the radon concentration is low (about 2 Bq/l). Water works in Swieradów Zdrój is supplied with the mixed water consisting from the surface water, which main characteristic is low radon concentration (below 11 Bq/l), and from artesian well and mine gallery water with the radon concentration from 321 Bq/l to 464 Bq/l in it. This water is mixed in various ratios and therefore the radon concentration in it was within 4 Bq/l and 79 Bq/l.

[Radon 222Rn in residential buildings of Swieradów Zdrój and Czerniawa Zdrój]. / Radon 222Rn w budynkach mieszkalnych Swieradowa Zdroju i Czerniawy Zdroju.

Swieradrów Zdrój and Czerniawa Zdrój are located in Region Izera Block. A total of 789 radon passive dosimeters were distributed in 183 dwellings in these town Swieradów Zdrój and Czerniawa Zdrój to measure the indoor radon concentration in 1999. Three-five measurements were performed in each dwelling, one in the basement, and the others in the main bedroom, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, since these rooms are the most frequently occupied. In addition, the occupants of each dwelling were requested to answer a questionnaire in which a number of questions about the building, ventilation habits and other related aspects were formulated. A charcoal detectors (Pico-Rad system) were used in experiment. It is a passive short-term screening method of radon gas concentration measurements. The indoor radon level was found to range from 14.8 Bq/m3 to 5,723.9 Bq/m3. The arithmetic mean overall indoor concentration was 420.4 Bq/m3 and the geometric mean was 159.7 Bq/m3. The average concentration of indoor radon, which reflects the real risk for inhabitants, is 193.5 Bq/m3. The results hand a log-normal distribution. In Poland, an action level of 400 Bq/m3 was recommended for existing buildings and 200 Bq/m3 for newly built (after 1.01.1998) buildings. In about 23% rooms the level of Rn-222 were above the top limit of 400 Bq/m3. The highest average concentrations were present in a basement (mean 919.9 Bq/m3). A decrease of average activity were observed at the upper levels: at the ground floor (225.2 Bq/m3), at the first floor and at the higher floors (137.6 Bq/m3). The above results indicate that radon emission from the ground provides the main contribution to the radon concentration measured in dwellings indoors in Swieradów Zdrój and Czerniawa Zdrój. The effective dose to the population of the Swieradów Zdrój and Czerniawa Zdrój from indoor radon and its progeny can be derived from this data if we use an equilibrium factor of 0.4 between radon and its progeny and assuming an indoor occupation index of 0.8. Taking into account that a conversion coefficient of 1.1 mSv per mJ h m-3 is recommended in ICRP 65 for members of public, the measured average annual dose is then about 3.3 mSv per year.

[The contents of radon in deep borehole water of hydro-geological region of Gdansk]. / Zawartosc radonu w wodzie z ujec glebinowych gdanskiego regionu hydrogeologicznego.

Radon 222Rn in deep borehole water of Gdansk Hydrogeological Region has been quantitative determined. This region is located in east part of Gdansk Voivodship and in west part of Elblag Voivodship including Zulawy. The measurements were performed using alpha liquid scintillation counting method. Only in some case the concentrations of 222Rn in investigated samples exceed recommended limit 11 Bq/l.

[The radon therapy: radon inhalation spa in Kowary]. / Terapia radonowa--inhalatorium radonowe w Kowarach.

In this paper the measurements of radon-222 concentration in the air of Kowary Radon Inhalatorium in the vicinity of Jelenia Góra, Lower Silesia, Poland, performed by Radiation Protection and Radiobiology Department of National Institute of Hygiene in Warsaw, have been presented. For the measurements the integration method with the application of charcoal canisters have been used. The radon concentration was found within the very broad ranges from about 4 to 420 kBq m-3 depending of the season of the year. Basing on the radon concentration measurements during the inhalation therapy session and taking into account the equilibrium factor of 0.8 the doses to the bronchi of the patients in range from 1.2 to about 204 mSv (0.12-20.4 rem) have been assessed. The majority of patients (ca. 76%) received the doses between 115 and 204 mSv.

[Exposure to radon-222 of inhabitants of buildings in Olsztyn]. / Narazenie ludnosci na radon-222 w budynkach mieszkalnych Olsztyna.

The concentrations of radon-222 in the air of some buildings in Olsztyn were measured. The main source of radon in buildings is in general the ground under building and the materials used for building structure. In this work the results of radon-222 concentration measurements in the air of some buildings constructed before the 1939 year, in the buildings constructed after 1945 year with the traditional use of the bricks and in the buildings constructed with the use of great prefabricated plates are presented. The relations between radon-222 concentrations in the basements and in the first floor flats situated above the basement were evaluated. Based on the mean radon concentrations in the air of the various types of buildings investigated the effective doses for the inhabitants of each type of buildings were estimated.

[The content of radon 222Rn in deep borehole water of the Pojezierze Mazurskie terrain]. / Wystepowanie radonu 222Rn w wodzie z ujec glebinowych na terenie Pojezierza Mazurskiego.

Radon 222Rn in deep borehole water of Pojezierze Mazurskie region has been quantitative determined. The measurement were performed using the alpha liquid scintillation counting method. The water samples were examined from three voivodships: Elblag, Olsztyn and Suwalki. In some cases the concentrations of 222Rn in investigated water samples exceed 11 Bq/l.

[Measurements of radon 222Rn in water from the deep borehole in Warsaw]. / Pomiary stezenia radonu 222Rn w wodzie z ujec glebinowych na terenie Warszawy.

Radon 222Rn in deep borehole water in the Warsaw's district has been quantitative determined. The measurements were performed using the alpha liquid scintillation counting method. The measurements results were compared to the 222Rn concentration limit in drinking water approved in other countries. In some cases the concentrations of 222Rn in investigated water samples exceed 11 Bq/l. The annual radiation dose equivalent received by the people consuming every day such water in Warsaw in about 0.014 mSv (1.4 mrem).

[Comparative analysis of two diffusion methods for radon Rn-222 estimation in atmospheric air by means of gamma ray spectrometry and liquid scintillation counting]. / Analiza Porównawcza dwóch metod dyfuzyjnych pomiaru radonu Rn-222 w powietrzu z wykorzystaniem spektrometru promieni gamma i metody cieklej scyntylacji.

The comparative measurements of radon Rn-222 concentration in indoor air of some buildings and in radon labour chamber have been conducted using two different diffusions methods. The results of parallel measurements using radon charcoal detectors and gamma-rays spectrometry with liquid alpha scintillation counting (Pico-Rad) have been presented. It was concluded that both methods offer the similar measurements possibilities of radon concentrations in the air from about 30 Bq/m3 to about 600 Bq/m3 with the real average divergence between both methods of about +/- 11%.

Exposure to electromagnetic fields and risk of leukemia.

Using the data from a case-control study performed in 958 age, sex and place of residence matched pairs of adult inhabitants of Polish towns, the risk of leukemia related to work in electromagnetic fields. Information concerning exposure to electromagnetic fields for 958 cases and corresponding number of nonionizing electromagnetic fields were mainly: short-wave diathermy, heat sealer, capacitor discharge welder and induction welder. For workers exposed to electromagnetic fields, the odds ratio (OR) was not significantly elevated all leukemias (p greater than 0.05).

Building materials and risk of leukemia.

Using information data obtained from 958 patients with leukemia and the same number of healthy controls matched for sex, age and place of residence the relative risk of leukemia was calculated in relation to the character of the material from which the building was built where the patients and controls were living. The information on the type of the building materials was obtained by inquiry. Three types of buildings were isolated: buildings built from wood, bricks and concrete or prefabricated products. In the analysis the number of years during which the patients and controls were living in these buildings was considered. No statistically significant correlation was noted between the risk of leukaemia development and the character of the building material. No increase was noted in this probability in relation to the time of living in a building built from any of these building materials. Additional analysis demonstrated that in Poland no so called "leukemic houses" are found, that is houses where during 5 years three of more cases of leukemia occurred.