• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.487-499
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• 2017

This paper investigates the approximate solution bounds of radon diffusion equation in soil pore matrix coupled with uncertainty. These problems have been modeled by few researchers by considering the parameters as crisp, which may not give the correct essence of the uncertainty. Here, the interval uncertainties are handled by parametric form and solution of the relevant uncertain diffusion equation is found by using Galerkin's Method. The shape functions are taken as the linear combination of orthogonal polynomials which are generated based on the parametric form of the interval uncertainty. Uncertain bounds are computed and results are compared in special cases viz. with the crisp solution.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.308-311
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• 2005

[ $^{222}Rn\;and\;^{226}Ra$ ] in groundwater were determined simultaneously using a gamma-spectroscopy. A nitrogen flushing equipment has been used for elimination and stabilization of high and unstable background activity due to the radon and its progenies in counting shield and room. The aim of present work was to control the background activity for simultaneous measurement of radium$(^{226}Ra)$ and radon$(^{222}Rn)$ in groundwater using a gamma-spectrometry. Background activity was about 1.0dps and the standard deviation was about 50%, The background activity could be minimized using nitrogen flushing equipment in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 and the RSD was about 5% at the experimental condition. The detection limit of $^{222}Rn\;and\;^{226}Ra$ in groundwater was 0.5dps/L in the background control method. In most groundwater used in the work, radon activity was more than the detection limit. However, radium activity in some groundwater was less than the detection limit. If the low level radium in groundwater must be measured, preconcentration process such as concentration should be performed before measuring the groundwater.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2018.11a
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• pp.120-121
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• 2018

Radon is one of the substances that pollute the indoor air and is classified as a first-level carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC) together with asbestos, and it is reported that it can cause lung cancer. The World Health Organization(WHO) reports that lung cancer is the second leading cause of lung cancer, and 6-15% of lung cancer patients report lung cancer caused by radon. Radon occurs in cracks in concrete and aged buildings, and is detected in soil, rocks, groundwater, and so on. It is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas which is adsorbed to dust in the air and enters through human respiratory system. This study used vermiculite (expanded vermiculite), which has excellent ion exchange ability and a large number of pores, and industrial by - product red mud which has heavy metal adsorption ability, in order to adsorb radon. A matrix capable of adsorbing radon was prepared, and the characteristics of each material were compared and analyzed.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.311-317
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate Rn concentration and annual radiation exposure level in the basement and first floor. The Rn Cup monitors were placed in different environments such as shopping stage, office building, Apartment, Hospital, house in Seoul from Match 1996 to April 1997 and CR-39 films were collected every two months. The mean radon concentration in the basement of house($88.6\;Bq/m^3$) showed the highest level among the areas, while radon concentration on the first floor of house($50.5\;Bq/m^3$) showed the higher than other areas. The annual radiation exposure dose that person on the floor / in the basement of differential place in the seoul can be exposed during living was estimated from 24.11 to 87.64 mRem/yr. This radiation dose is significantly lower than 130mRem maximum radiation dosage from the radon nuclide prescribed by the ICRP, with respect to the overall average exposure of the working adult. this study indicated that possible radon sources on the first floor / in the basement areas are radon intrusion from soil gas, construction materials, or ground water leaking. Further study is needed to quantitatively assess major contributions of radon-222 and health effect to radon exposure.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.261-276
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• 2016

The occurrence of natural radioactive materials such as uranium and radon-222 in groundwater was examined with hydrogeochemistry and geology at ○○ village in the Yongin area. Two rounds of 19 groundwater and 5 surface water sampling were collected for analysis. The range of pH value in groundwaters was 5.81 to 7.79 and the geochemical types of the groundwater were mostly Ca(Na)-HCO₃ and Ca(Na)-NO₃(Cl)-HCO₃. Uranium and radon-222 concentrations in the groundwater ranged from 0.06 to 411 μg/L and from 5.56 to 903 Bq/L, respectively. Two deep groundwaters used as common potable well-water sources exceeded the maximum contaminant levels of the uranium and radon-222 proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Three groundwater samples from residential areas contained unsuitable levels of uranium, and 12 groundwater samples were unsuitable due to radon-222 concentrations. Radioactive materials in the unsuitable groundwater are naturally occurring in a Jurassic amphibole- and biotite-bearing granitic gneiss. High uranium and radon-222 groundwater concentrations were only observed in two common wells; the others showed no relationship between bedrock geology and groundwater geochemical constituents. With such high concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials in groundwater, the affected areas may extend tens of meters for uranium and even farther for radon-222. Therefore, we suggest the radon-222 and the uranium did not originate from the same source. Based on the distribution of radon-222 in the study area, zones of higher radon-222 concentrations may be the result of diffusion through cracks, joint, or faults. Surface radioactivity and uranium concentrations in the groundwater show a positive relationship, and the impact areas may extend for ~200m beyond the well in the case of wells containing high concentrations of uranium. The highest uranium and thorium concentrations in rock samples were detected in thorite and monazite.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.9-16
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• 2010

Groundwater sampling was performed at 38 wells where they are located in the areas with high uranium and radon (marked as A and B, respectively) concentrations, which were based on the previous research results. In-situ parameters (temperature, pH, EC, Eh, DO) and natural radionuclides (uranium and radon) were analyzed to figure out the characteristics of groundwater environments. In-situ data did not show any relations to natural radionuclide data, which could be caused by groundwater mixing, depths of wells, and geological settings, etc. But the highest radon well presented relatively low temperature value and the highest uranium well presented relatively low pH values The highest uranium concentration ranging $1.14{\sim}188.19{\mu}g/L$ showed in the area of A region consisted of Jurassic two-mica granite. The areas of Jurassic biotite granite and Cretaceous granite in the A region have the uranium concentrations ranging $0.10{\sim}49.78{\mu}g/L$ and $0.36{\sim}3.01{\mu}g/L$, respectively. The uranium values from between wells of community water systems (CWSs) penetrating fractured bed-rock aquifers and personal boreholes settled in shallow aquifers near the wells of CWSs show big differences. It implies that the groundwaters of the two areas have evolved from different water-rock interaction paths that may caused by various types of wells having different aquifers. High radon activities in the area of B region composed of Precambrian gneiss showed ranging from 6,770 to 64,688 pCi/L. Even though the wells are located in the same geological settings, their rodon concentration presented different according to depth and distance.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.612-624
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• 2007

The real-time monitoring of radon ($^{222}Rn$) concentrations has been carried out to evaluate its ambient background concentration levels in Gosan site, Jeju Island between January 2001 and December 2004. In addition, the atmospheric TSP aerosols have been sampled, and their ionic and metallic components were analyzed to understand the characteristics of air pollution. The mean concentration of radon was $3,121{\pm}1,627\;mBq/m^3$, and the seasonal mean concentrations for spring, summer, fall and winter seasons were 2,898, 2,398, 3,571 and $3,646\;mBq/m^3$, respectively, The hourly concentrations have shown the highest value at 7 a.m. and the lowest value at 2 p.m. From the backward trajectory analyses, the radon concentrations have increased, when the air parcels were moved from the Chinese continent to Jeju area. On the other hand, they have decreased, when the air parcels from the North Pacific Ocean. In the analytical results of ionic species and metal elements of TSP aerosols, the concentrations of $nss-{SO_4}^{2-}$ and S were higher in June and March. Meanwhile, the concentrations of other anthropogenic species as well as soil components were mostly higher in March and April. On the basis of factor analysis, the TSP aerosols at Gosan area were largely influenced by soil sources, followed by anthropogenic sources and marine sources. From the result of backward trajectory analyses, the concentrations of $nss-{SO_4}^{2-},\;{NO_3}^-$, Al and Ca were mostly higher, when the air parcels moved from Chinese continent to Jeju area. On the other hand, their concentrations were lower, when the air parcels drifted from the North Pacific Ocean.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.538-550
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• 2008

Radon is an invisible, odorless, and radioactive gas. It is formed by the disintegration of radium, which is a decay product of uranium. Some amounts of radon gas and its products are present ubiquitously in the soil, water, and air. Particularly high radon levels occur in regions of high uranium content. Although radon is permeable into indoor environment not only through geological features (bed rock and permeability) but also through the construction materials and underground water, the radiation from the geological features is generally main exposure factor. So there can be a problem in a certain space such as the underground and/or relatively poor ventilation condition. In this study, a GIS technique was used in order to investigate spatial distribution of radon measured from sub- way stations of 1 thru 8 in Seoul, Korea in 1991, 1998, 2001, and 2006. Spatial analysis was applied to reproduce the radon distribution. We utilized spatial analysis techniques such as inverse distance weighted averaging (IDW) and kriging techniques which are widely used to relate between different spatial points. To validate the results from the analyses, the jackknife technique for an uncertainty test was performed. When the number of measuring sites was less than 100 and also when the number of omitted sites increased, the kriging technique was better than IDW. On the other hand, when the number of sites was over 100, IDW technique was better than kriging technique. Thus the selection of analytical tool was affected sensitives by the analysis based on the number of measuring sites.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2016.10a
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• pp.64-65
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• 2016

This study that prevent cancer using absorbent to inflow Radon gas in the room existing soil and rock is making board to absorb the Radon gas as a fundamental study. So, we use bentonite as a absorbent. So, we use bentonite as a absorbent. Bentonite is a 'clay mineral' composed to montmorillonite of main component that volcanic ash denatured to a clay mineral. Bentonite has fine microparticle of nano level, abundant mineral 66 of kinds, adsorbability, swelling, a positive ion(heavy metal adsorption reaction) as a bentonite's property. Using magnesia cement for oxide of magnesiuma and magnesium chloride as a main binder, we measure Radon gas absorbent efficiency and thermal conductivity.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.10
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• pp.2370-2378
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• 2020

Building materials contribute significantly to the indoor radon and thoron levels. Therefore, parameters that influence the exhalation rates of radon and thoron from building material need to be analyzed closely. As a preliminary study, the effects of humidity on exhalation rates were measured using a system with an accumulation chamber and RAD7 detector for Korean brick, Korean soil, and Indonesian brick. Resulting doses to a person who resides in a room constructed from the building materials were assessed by UNSCEAR method for different air exchange rates. The measurements have revealed that Korean brick exhaled the highest radon and thoron while Indonesian brick exhaled the lowest thoron. Results showed that for a typical low dense material, radon and thoron exhalation rate will increase until reached its maximum at a certain value of humidity and will remain saturated above it. Analysis on concentration and effective dose showed that radon is strongly affected by air exchange rate (ACH). This is showed by about 66 times decrease of radon dose from 0.00 h^-1 to those of 0.50 h^-1 ACH and decrease by a factor of 2 from 0.50 h^-1 to those of 0.80 h^-1. In case of thoron, the ACH doesn't have significant effects on effective dose.