URANIUM IN SOIL AND GAMMA DOSE RATE AS PROXIES FOR THE INDOOR RADON RISK: SITUATION IN BELGIUM.

Radon risk maps are usually based either on indoor radon data, or on measurements of soil gas radon and soil permeability. If these data are not available or not sufficient, it was suggested that other data could be used as an approximate substitute (a proxy) to the missing information, like the concentration of 238U or 226Ra in soils or the terrestrial gamma dose rate (TGDR). We examine here the correlation between airborne measurements of soil U and indoor radon, and between airborne U and TGDR, and their link with affected/unaffected areas. No clear correlation is found between airborne U and affected areas, as strongly affected areas are not characterised by a higher U level. Only the moderately affected area of Condroz can be connected to a higher U level, related to a few U anomalies. TGDR shows a rather good correlation with airborne U, but its relation with radon risk is less clear. Soil uranium and TGDR may help to screen out areas with very low U and very low TGDR, which have a low indoor radon risk, but they cannot be considered as good proxies for predicting radon-affected areas in Belgium.

Estimating the terrestrial gamma dose rate by decomposition of the ambient dose equivalent rate.

An extensive network of dose rate monitoring stations continuously measures ambient dose rate across Europe, as part of the EURDEP system. Its purpose is early warning in radiological emergencies and documenting its temporal and spatial evolution. In normal conditions, when there is no contribution to the dose rate signal coming from fresh anthropogenic contamination, the data represent the radiation "background", i.e. the combined natural radiation and existing anthropogenic contamination (by global and Chernobyl fallout). These data are being stored, but have so far not been evaluated in depth, or used for any purpose. In the framework of the EU project 'European Atlas of Natural Radiation' the idea has emerged to exploit these data for generating a map of natural terrestrial gamma radiation. This component contributes to the total radiation exposure and knowing its geographical distribution can help establishing local 'radiation budgets'. A further use could be found in terrestrial dose rate as a proxy of the geogenic radon potential, as both quantities are related by partly the same source, namely uranium content of the ground. In this paper, we describe in detail the composition of the ambient dose equivalent rate as measured by the EURDEP monitors with respect to its physical nature and to its sources in the environment. We propose and compare methods to recover the terrestrial component from the gross signal. This requires detailed knowledge of detector response. We consider the probes used in the Austrian, Belgian and German dose rate networks, which are the respective national networks supplying data to EURDEP. It will be shown that although considerable progress has been made in understanding the dose rate signals, there is still space for improvement in terms of modelling and model parameters. An indispensable condition for success of the endeavour to establish a Europe-wide map of terrestrial dose rate background is progress in harmonising the European dose rate monitoring network.

First Map of Residential Indoor Radon Measurements in Azerbaijan.

This article describes results of the first measurements of indoor radon concentrations in Azerbaijan, including description of the methodology and the mathematical and statistical processing of the results obtained. Measured radon concentrations varied considerably: from almost radon-free houses to around 1100 Bq m-3. However, only ~7% of the total number of measurements exceeded the maximum permissible concentrations. Based on these data, maps of the distribution of volumetric activity and elevated indoor radon concentrations in Azerbaijan were created. These maps reflect a mosaic character of distribution of radon and enhanced values that are confined to seismically active areas at the intersection of an active West Caspian fault with sub-latitudinal faults along the Great and Lesser Caucasus and the Talysh mountains. Spatial correlation of radon and temperature behavior is also described. The data gathered on residential indoor radon have been integrated into the European Indoor Radon Map.

7Be behaviour and meteorological conditions associated with 7Be peak events in Spain.

This work regards a comprehensive analysis of the overall distribution of 7Be activity concentrations in Spain and the synoptic meteorological conditions associated with the highest 7Be peaks (>8 mBq/m3). The use of four sampling stations (Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, and Sevilla) included in REMdb, with different latitudinal location, as well as the relatively long time period used in this study (2001-2010), allowed to improve the understanding of 7Be spatio-temporal distribution in Spain. The comparison of the 7Be activity concentrations mean values indicated a north-south gradient (from 3.1 ± 1.1 mBq/m3 in Bilbao to 4.0 ± 1.8 mBq/m3 in Sevilla), even though not statistically significant (as indicated by the t-test). However, the analysis of frequency distributions and temporal evolutions of 7Be activity concentrations have suggested the presence of two main areas, namely northern (Bilbao and Barcelona) and southern (Sevilla) Spain. The identification and analysis of periods associated with the highest values of 7Be have allowed studying the different synoptic patterns associated with stratospheric-tropospheric transport (STT). In particular, three episodes (one in the north and two in the south) potentially associated with vigorous STT have been identified and analysed in detail. The results displayed that the omega block configuration, extending either over western Russia and Scandinavia or into the Atlantic Ocean, forced the prevailing jet stream to the northeast and south of Spain respectively with subsequent subsidence. In summer, this blocking configuration at high latitudes was combined with the presence of the Azores high pressure system to the west of Spain, affecting the 7Be activity concentration recorded in the south.

Identification of airborne radioactive spatial patterns in Europe - Feasibility study using Beryllium-7.

The present study proposes a methodology to identify spatial patterns in airborne radioactive particles in Europe. The methodology is based on transforming the activity concentrations in the set of stations for each month (monthly index), due to the tightly spaced sampling intervals (daily to monthly), in combination with hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering approaches, due to the lack of a priori knowledge of the number of clusters to be created. Three different hierarchical cluster methodologies are explored to set the optimal number of clusters necessary to initialize the non-hierarchical one (k-means). To evaluate this methodology, cosmogenic beryllium-7 ((7)Be) data, collected between 2007 and 2010 at 19 sampling stations in European Union (EU) countries and stored in the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring (REM) database, are used. This methodology yields a solution with three distinguishable clusters (south, central and north), each with a different evolution of the (7)Be monthly index. Clear differences between monthly indices are shown in both intensity and time trends, following a latitudinal distribution of the sampling stations. This cluster result is evaluated performing ANOVA analysis, considering the original (7)Be activity concentrations grouped in each cluster. The statistical results (among clusters and sampling stations within clusters) confirm the spatial distribution of (7)Be in Europe, and, hence, reinforce the use of this methodology. Finally, the impact of tropopause height on this grouping is successfully tested, suggesting its influence on the spatial distribution of (7)Be in Europe. For airborne radioactive particles the analysis gave valuable results that improve knowledge of these atmospheric compounds in Europe. Hence, this work addresses a methodology to a grouping of airborne sampling stations, 1) allowing a better understanding of the distribution of (7)Be activity concentrations in the EU, and 2) serving as a basis for further investigation of the heterogeneity of airborne radioactivity concentrations in Europe.

High radon areas in the Walloon region of Belgium.

Indoor radon data from Southern Belgium are organised in 35 geological units (GUs), most of which are homogeneous with respect to the radon risk. The percentage of cases above the reference level (400 Bq m(-3); 300 Bq m(-3) in the future) is calculated for these GUs from the observations and from the log-normal distribution fitted to the data. Affected areas are defined as areas with more than 1 % of houses above the reference level. In the north of the region, the old Palaeozoic basement is generally covered by Silesian, Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks, which are unaffected. The affected areas here are hot spots associated with specific Palaeozoic outcrops. In the south, there is generally no cover above Palaeozoic formations, which are often radon affected. The affected areas of Ardenne and Condroz dominate this part, but unaffected areas occur like Famenne and Gaume. About 48 % of the Walloon region is expected to be radon affected.

Status of the European Atlas of Natural Radiation.

According to the EURATOM (European Atomic Energy Community) Treaty, one of the missions of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) is to collect, process, evaluate and present data on environmental radioactivity. In 2006, the JRC started the 'European Atlas of Natural Radiation' project, in order to give an overview of the geographic distribution of sources of, and exposures to, natural radiation. As a first task, a map of indoor radon concentration was created, because in most cases this is the most important contribution to exposure, and since it could be expected that data collection would take quite some time, because radon (Rn) surveys are very differently advanced between European countries. The authors show the latest status of this map. A technically more ambitious map proved the one of the geogenic Rn potential (RP), due to heterogeneity of data sources across Europe and the need to develop models to estimate a harmonised quantity which adequately measures or classifies the RP. Further maps currently in the making include those of secondary cosmic radiation, of terrestrial gamma radiation and of the concentrations of the elements U, Th and K that are its source. In this article, the authors show the progress of some of these maps.

Soil gas radon assessment and development of a radon risk map in Bolsena, Central Italy.

Vulsini Volcanic district in Northern Latium (Central Italy) is characterized by high natural radiation background resulting from the high concentrations of uranium, thorium and potassium in the volcanic products. In order to estimate the radon radiation risk, a series of soil gas radon measurements were carried out in Bolsena, the principal urban settlement in this area NE of Rome. Soil gas radon concentration ranges between 7 and 176 kBq/m(3) indicating a large degree of variability in the NORM content and behavior of the parent soil material related in particular to the occurrence of two different lithologies. Soil gas radon mapping confirmed the existence of two different areas: one along the shoreline of the Bolsena lake, characterized by low soil radon level, due to a prevailing alluvial lithology; another close to the Bolsena village with high soil radon level due to the presence of the high radioactive volcanic rocks of the Vulsini volcanic district. Radon risk assessment, based on soil gas radon and permeability data, results in a map where the alluvial area is characterized by a probability to be an area with high Radon Index lower than 20 %, while probabilities higher than 30 % and also above 50 % are found close to the Bolsena village.

A climatology of 7Be in surface air in European Union.

This study presents a European-wide analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of the cosmogenic isotope (7)Be in surface air. This is the first time that a long term database of 34 sampling sites that regularly provide data to the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring (REM) network, managed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, is used. While temporal coverage varies between stations, some of them have delivered data more or less continuously from 1984 to 2011. The station locations were considerably heterogeneous, both in terms of latitude and altitude, a range which should ensure a high degree of representativeness of the results. The mean values of (7)Be activity concentration presented a spatial distribution value ranging from 2.0 to 5.4 mBq/m(3) over the European Union. The results of the ANOVA analysis of all (7)Be data available indicated that its temporal and spatial distributions were mainly explained by the location and characteristic of the sampling sites rather than its temporal distribution (yearly, seasonal and monthly). Higher (7)Be concentrations were registered at the middle, compared to high-latitude, regions. However, there was no correlation with altitude, since all stations are sited within the atmospheric boundary layer. In addition, the total and yearly analyses of the data indicated a dynamic range of (7)Be activity for each solar cycle and phase (maximum or minimum), different impact on stations having been observed according to their location. Finally, the results indicated a significant seasonal and monthly variation for (7)Be activity concentration across the European Union, with maximum concentrations occurring in the summer and minimum in the winter, although with differences in the values reached. The knowledge of the horizontal and vertical distribution of this natural radionuclide in the atmosphere is a key parameter for modelling studies of atmospheric processes, which are important phenomena to be taken into account in the case of a nuclear accident.

From the European indoor radon map towards an atlas of natural radiation.

In 2006, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission launched a project to map radon at the European level, as part of a planned European Atlas of Natural Radiation. It started with a map of indoor radon concentrations. As of May 2014, this map includes data from 24 countries, covering a fair part of Europe. Next, a European map of geogenic radon, intended to show 'what earth delivers' in terms of radon potential (RP), was started in 2008. A first trial map has been created, and a database was established to collect all available data relevant to the RP. The Atlas should eventually display the geographical distribution of physical quantities related to natural radiation. In addition to radon, it will comprise maps of quantities such as cosmic rays and terrestrial gamma radiation. In this paper, the authors present the current state of the radon maps and the Atlas.