Radiation Protection Dosimetry Advance Access published April 11, 2014 Radiation Protection Dosimetry (2014), pp. 1–5
doi:10.1093/rpd/ncu111
MECHANISMS AND SOURCES OF RADON ENTRY IN BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGIES M. V. Zhukovsky and A. V. Vasilyev* Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Sophy Kovalevskoy st., 20, Ekaterinburg 620990, Russia *Corresponding author: [email protected]
INTRODUCTION 222
Radon ( Rn), a naturally occurring radioactive gas found in soil and building materials, is able to migrate and accumulate in buildings. Features of design and operation of various buildings can result in much higher levels of indoor radon accumulation in comparison with the outdoor atmosphere(1). According to the latest epidemiological data(2, 3), there is a direct correlation between the occurrence of lung cancer and the presence of indoor radon. In a survey conducted from 2007 to 2009 by the Institute of Industrial Ecology(4), radon concentration has been measured in 404 apartments located in the multi-storey buildings of Ekaterinburg, Russia. The major part of measurements has been carried out in buildings constructed from 1950 to 1989, approximately a quarter of the buildings were constructed in the last two decades. Special attention was paid to the relatively high levels of radon (from 70 to 230 Bq m23) on the upper floors of buildings constructed in the last 20 y (91 apartments). These buildings were constructed when the regulations were approved according to which the equivalent equilibrium concentration (EEC) of radon should not exceed 100 Bq m23 (radon gas concentration 200 Bq m23)(5). The results of preliminary surveys give the possibility of correlation between accumulation of radon and construction technologies (new kinds of building materials and their raw materials, increased air tightness of the building envelope, etc.). Taking into account the factors mentioned above, the main purposes of this study were as follows: (1) Field measurements of radon in buildings constructed by modern technologies. (2) The study of the dynamics of radon accumulation depending on weather conditions and regime of building operation.
(3) Laboratory testing of building materials and raw materials used in the construction of modern buildings in Ekaterinburg. (4) Modelling of radon flux in apartments from building materials on the basis of laboratory and field measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS To investigate the influence of modern building construction technologies on the indoor radon accumulation, buildings constructed using predominantly either monolithic concrete or aerated concrete blocks have been chosen. The number of studied rooms in each type of buildings was equal (10 rooms for each type). All buildings in this study were constructed after 2000. Measurements of radon concentration were carried out within 2 months in transition season (September–October) using solid-state track detectors (LR-115). In monolithic concrete buildings, all measurements were conducted on the upper floors. For the cottage-type houses constructed from aerated concrete, practically all measurements were conducted on the ground floor. Detectors were installed in a living room or bedroom by properly trained inhabitants. Together with detector mounting, a questionnaire for recording the characteristics of buildings and rooms was filled in. After the end of the exposure period the inhabitants themselves packed the radon detectors in a plastic bag and returned them to the laboratory. To analyse the dynamics of radon concentration change in buildings constructed by modern technologies, long-term measurements of radon concentration have been conducted in two typical buildings (Table 1). To study the dynamics of radon concentration, continuous measurements of radon concentration,
# The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
Downloaded from http://rpd.oxfordjournals.org/ at National Chung Hsing University Library on April 12, 2014
To investigate the influence of modern building construction technologies on the accumulation of radon indoor, 20 rooms in buildings constructed using mostly monolithic concrete or aerated concrete blocks have been studied. Dominance of the diffusion mechanism of radon entry in buildings constructed with modern technologies has been established. As a result of computer simulations it was found that the main contribution to the variability of radon concentration was made by changes in the ventilation rate. At a low ventilation rate (
doi:10.1093/rpd/ncu111
MECHANISMS AND SOURCES OF RADON ENTRY IN BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGIES M. V. Zhukovsky and A. V. Vasilyev* Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Sophy Kovalevskoy st., 20, Ekaterinburg 620990, Russia *Corresponding author: [email protected]
INTRODUCTION 222
Radon ( Rn), a naturally occurring radioactive gas found in soil and building materials, is able to migrate and accumulate in buildings. Features of design and operation of various buildings can result in much higher levels of indoor radon accumulation in comparison with the outdoor atmosphere(1). According to the latest epidemiological data(2, 3), there is a direct correlation between the occurrence of lung cancer and the presence of indoor radon. In a survey conducted from 2007 to 2009 by the Institute of Industrial Ecology(4), radon concentration has been measured in 404 apartments located in the multi-storey buildings of Ekaterinburg, Russia. The major part of measurements has been carried out in buildings constructed from 1950 to 1989, approximately a quarter of the buildings were constructed in the last two decades. Special attention was paid to the relatively high levels of radon (from 70 to 230 Bq m23) on the upper floors of buildings constructed in the last 20 y (91 apartments). These buildings were constructed when the regulations were approved according to which the equivalent equilibrium concentration (EEC) of radon should not exceed 100 Bq m23 (radon gas concentration 200 Bq m23)(5). The results of preliminary surveys give the possibility of correlation between accumulation of radon and construction technologies (new kinds of building materials and their raw materials, increased air tightness of the building envelope, etc.). Taking into account the factors mentioned above, the main purposes of this study were as follows: (1) Field measurements of radon in buildings constructed by modern technologies. (2) The study of the dynamics of radon accumulation depending on weather conditions and regime of building operation.
(3) Laboratory testing of building materials and raw materials used in the construction of modern buildings in Ekaterinburg. (4) Modelling of radon flux in apartments from building materials on the basis of laboratory and field measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS To investigate the influence of modern building construction technologies on the indoor radon accumulation, buildings constructed using predominantly either monolithic concrete or aerated concrete blocks have been chosen. The number of studied rooms in each type of buildings was equal (10 rooms for each type). All buildings in this study were constructed after 2000. Measurements of radon concentration were carried out within 2 months in transition season (September–October) using solid-state track detectors (LR-115). In monolithic concrete buildings, all measurements were conducted on the upper floors. For the cottage-type houses constructed from aerated concrete, practically all measurements were conducted on the ground floor. Detectors were installed in a living room or bedroom by properly trained inhabitants. Together with detector mounting, a questionnaire for recording the characteristics of buildings and rooms was filled in. After the end of the exposure period the inhabitants themselves packed the radon detectors in a plastic bag and returned them to the laboratory. To analyse the dynamics of radon concentration change in buildings constructed by modern technologies, long-term measurements of radon concentration have been conducted in two typical buildings (Table 1). To study the dynamics of radon concentration, continuous measurements of radon concentration,
# The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
Downloaded from http://rpd.oxfordjournals.org/ at National Chung Hsing University Library on April 12, 2014
To investigate the influence of modern building construction technologies on the accumulation of radon indoor, 20 rooms in buildings constructed using mostly monolithic concrete or aerated concrete blocks have been studied. Dominance of the diffusion mechanism of radon entry in buildings constructed with modern technologies has been established. As a result of computer simulations it was found that the main contribution to the variability of radon concentration was made by changes in the ventilation rate. At a low ventilation rate (
