Radon and thoron exhalation rate in the soil of Western Haryana, India.

This study reports the exhalation rates of radon and thoron from surface soil collected from 60 rural sites of district Hisar, Haryana, India. The exhalation rates of Rn222 (radon) and Rn220 (thoron) were measured by portable SMART RnDuo (AQTEK SYSTEMS) using a mass accumulation chamber which was equipped with a scintillation material-coated cell. Dose rates due to natural gamma radiations ranged from 0.526 to 1.139 mSv y-1. The Rn222 mass exhalation rate in soil samples varied from 0.14 to 94.65 mBq kg-1 h-1. Thoron surface exhalation rates ranged from 46.42 to 619.88 Bq m-2 h-1. This study gives an idea about the differences in Rn222 and Rn220 exhalation at different locations which may be due to variations in geological features of the locations and characteristics of the topsoil. The findings show that usage of study area soil as building material is safe.

Radiological risk assessment to the public due to the presence of radon in water of Barnala district, Punjab, India.

Various research studies have shown that exposure to radon gas is a cause of concern for health effects to the public. The present work has been carried out for the radiological risk assessment to the public due to the presence of radon isotopes in drinking water of Barnala district of Punjab, India, for the first time using scintillation-based radiation detector. A total of 100 samples were collected from different sources of water (canal and underground water) from 25 villages on grid pattern of 6 × 6 km2 in the study area for uniform mapping. In situ measurements were carried out to find out Rn-222 concentration in water samples. The measured values have been found to vary from 0.17 ± 0.01 to 9.84 ± 0.59 BqL-1 with an average value of 3.37 ± 0.29 BqL-1, which is well below the recommended limit of 100 BqL-1(WHO 2004). The annual effective dose due to ingestion and inhalation of radon has also been calculated for various age groups like infants, children and adults to understand the age-wise dose distribution. The calculated values suggest that there is no significant health risk to the general public from radon in water.

Assessment of radon concentration and heavy metal contamination in groundwater of Udhampur district, Jammu & Kashmir, India.

Radon concentration was measured in water samples of 41 different locations from Udhampur district of Jammu & Kashmir, India, by using RAD7 and Smart RnDuo monitor. The variation of radon concentration in water ranged from 1.44 ± 0.31 to 63.64 ± 2.88 Bq L-1, with a mean value of 28.73 Bq L-1 using RAD7 and 0.64 ± 0.28 to 52.65 ± 2.50 Bq L-1, with a mean value of 20.30 Bq L-1 using Smart RnDuo monitor, respectively. About 17.07% of the studied water samples recorded to display elevated radon concentration above the reference range suggested by United Nation Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiations (UNSCEAR). The mean annual effective dose of these samples was determined, and 78.95% samples were found to be within the safe limits set by World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Council (EU). The study revealed good agreement between the values obtained with two methods. Heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Fe, Cu, Ni, As, Hg, Co, Pb and Cr) were determined in water samples by microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer, and their correlation with radon content was also analysed.