• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.37-51
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• 1993

A standard radon chamber and a radon generator adjusted by ventilation system which had used in this research were assumed to calculate theoretically the concentration of radon progeny using Jacobi model theory. On the one hand, the filter sampled from the radon standard chamber and the radon generator was measured and analysed by the alpha spectrometry method. It is clear that measured result shows a good agreement with theoretical result. Therefore, it is observed that this research can made a great contribution to more accurate internal dose assessment by alpha emission of radon progeny in indoor radon environment, and fast individual measurement and determination of concentration for radon progeny.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.95-100
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• 2020

Background: Compared with reported data of radon concentration, data of radon progeny concentration is limited in general, especially in outdoor environment. Materials and Methods: To know both the level and the variation of radon progeny concentration in outdoor environment in Beijing area, one-year continuous measurement with a cycle of 60 minutes was carried out by a step-advanced filter (SAF) monitor for radon progeny measurement. The observation site was located in a park in Eastern Beijing area, and the observation period was from October 17, 2018 to September 29, 2019. Results and Discussion: The equivalent equilibrium concentration (EEC) of radon progeny varies from 0.7 to 19.1 Bq·m^-3, with an annual average of 4.9 ± 2.7 Bq·m^-3. A clear diurnal variation of EEC, higher in the early morning and lower in the late afternoon, is observed due to the high sensitivity of the SAF monitor. Conclusion: Vertical convection of atmospheric boundary layer is thought to be the main reason of this phenomenon. For annual variation, the lowest monthly average EEC appeared in April, while the highest appeared in November, which might attribute to the atmospheric stability in different seasons.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 1992

A study for the evaluation of selected filter media that need further characterization particularily in the context of alpha measurements of radon progeny has been carried out by investigating physical characteristics and using the alpha spectroscopy. Physical characteristics was investigated by electrostatic charging and mechanical strength of filters, and then pressure drop before and after sampling was tested. Alpha spectroscopy was used to analyze the energy spectra from the deposition of radon progeny into filters. The results of the assessment showed that the newer filter types do not have a great advantage over the 'old standard' Millipore type AA. But Metricel DM-800 is recommended for those situations where electrostatic charging is a problem. Also this method will be used more effective for the evaluation of new developing filters in future.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.399-408
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• 2001

The variation characteristics of radon concentration, equilibrium equivalent concentration and equilibrium factor in some houses and laboratory buildings have been studied. The variation of equilibrium factor and the unattached fraction of radon progeny with ventilation condition have been also estimated. The averages of radon concentration, equilibrium equivalent concentration and equilibrium factor were $30\;Bq\;m^{-3},\;19.6\;Bq\;m^{-3}$ and 0.65 in seven houses, while $55.0\;Bq\;m^{-3},\;31.9\;Bq\;m^{-3}$ and 0.58 in three laboratory buildings, respectively. The diurnal variation of radon concentration, equilibrium equivalent concentration and equilibrium factor in indoor showed a typical pattern that the radon concentration, equilibrium equivalent concentration and equilibrium factor increased at dawn and morning, while decreased at midday and evening. While the equilibrium factor rate deceased in the indoor environment which was well ventilated, the unattached traction of radon progeny increased. The equilibrium factor was in proportion to air pressure and humidity of indoor, whereas in Inverse proportion to temperature.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.237-245
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• 2022

Background: The current study reports measurements of activity concentrations of radon (²²⁰Rn) and thoron (²²⁰Rn) in dwellings, followed by inhalation dose assessment of the public, and then by the development of regulation and the national radon action plan (NRAP) in Cameroon. Materials and Methods: Radon, thoron, and thoron progeny measurements were carried out from 2014 to 2017 using radon-thoron discriminative detectors (commercially RADUET) in 450 dwellings and thoron progeny monitors in 350 dwellings. From 2019 to 2020, radon track detectors (commercially RADTRAK) were deployed in 1,400 dwellings. It was found that activity concentrations of radon range in 1,850 houses from 10 to 2,620 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 76 Bq/㎥. Results and Discussion: Activity concentrations of thoron range from 20 to 700 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 107 Bq/㎥. Thoron equilibrium factor ranges from 0.01 to 0.6, with an arithmetic mean of 0.09 that is higher than the default value of 0.02 given by UNSCEAR. On average, 49%, 9%, and 2% of all surveyed houses have radon concentrations above 100, 200, and 300 Bq/㎥, respectively. The average contribution of thoron to the inhalation dose due to radon and thoron exposure is about 40%. Thus, thoron cannot be neglected in dose assessment to avoid biased results in radio-epidemiological studies. Only radon was considered in the drafted regulation and in the NRAP adopted in October 2020. Reference levels of 300 Bq/㎥ and 1,000 Bq/㎥ were recommended for dwellings and workplaces. Conclusion: Priority actions for the coming years include the following: radon risk mapping, promotion of a protection policy against radon in buildings, integration of the radon prevention and mitigation into the training of construction specialists, mitigation of dwellings and workplaces with high radon levels, increased public awareness of the health risks associated with radon, and development of programs on the scientific and technical aspects.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2222-2229
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• 2023

Radon and radon progeny being natural radioactive pollutants, seriously affect the health of uranium miners. Radon reduction by ventilation is an essential means to improve the working environment. Firstly, the relational model is built between the radon exhalation rate of the loose body and the ventilation parameters in the stope with radon percolation-diffusion migration dynamics. Secondly, the model parameters of radon exhalation dynamics are uncertain and described by triangular membership functions. The objective functions of the left and right equations of the radon exhalation model are constructed according to different possibility levels, and their extreme value intervals are obtained by the immune particle swarm optimization algorithm (IPSO). The fuzzy target and fuzzy constraint models of radon exhalation are constructed, respectively. Lastly, the fuzzy aggregation function is reconstructed according to the importance of the fuzzy target and fuzzy constraint models. The optimal control decision with different possibility levels and importance can be obtained using the swarm intelligence algorithm. The case study indicates that the fuzzy aggregation function of radon exhalation has an upward trend with the increase of the cut set, and fuzzy optimization provides the optimal decision-making database of radon treatment and prevention under different decision-making criteria.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 1999.11a
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• pp.407-408
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• 1999

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.21-28
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• 2001

Naturally-ocurring short-lived decay products of radon gas in indoor air are the dominant source of ionizing radiation exposure to the general public. It is written in BEIR VI Report(l999l the radon progeny were identified as the second cause of lung cancer next to cigarette or 10 % to 14 %(15,400 to 21,800 persons p.a.) of all lung cancer deaths in USA. Indoor radon concentrations in houses typically result from radon gaining access to houses mainly from the underlying soil. In the States, they have "Indoor Radon Abatement Act" which was converted from "Toxic Substance Control Act" in 1988 to establish the national long-term goal that indoor air should be as free of radon as the ambient air outside of buildings. To review and study techniques for controlling radon, two test cells were constructed for a series of tests and are under measuring indoor and soil gas (underneath of floor slab)radon concentrations according to EPA's measurement protocol. In this paper, important theoretical studies are previewed and the following paper will explain the test results and confirm the theories reviewed to find out suitable coefficients. On the basis of test analysis, it will be described and evaluated various techniques that can be used to mitigate elevated indoor concentration of radon including the control of radon and its decay products.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.950-956
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• 2018

For complete assessment of inhalation doses of radon and its progeny inside the three main ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, seasonal radon concentrations have been measured by using a new electronic device that allows for measurement of real-time-resolved radon concentrations. Measurements were complemented by very fast measurements of thoron concentrations, which turned out to be low. Based on these measurements, annual residence time inside these tombs and the newest International Commission on Radiological Protection-recommended radon dose conversion coefficients or seasonal effective doses were calculated. The results indicate that workers receive highest annual effective doses of up to 140 mSv, which exceeds the annual limit of 20 mSv, whereas lower values up to 15 mSv are received by guides. In contrast, much lower doses were obtained for one-time visitors of the investigated tombs. The obtained results are somewhat different but still consistent with those previously obtained by means of fixed passive dose meters at some of the investigated places. This indicates that reasonable estimates of the effective dose of radon can be also obtained from short-term radon measurements carried out only twice a year (summer and winter season). Increasing the ventilation, minimizing the working times, etc., are highly recommended to reduce the annual effective dose.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.395-400
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• 2005

An environmental radon monitoring system, comprising a radon-cup, an etching system, and a track counting system, was constructed. The radon cup is a cylindrical chamber with a radius of 2.2 cm and a height of 3.2 cm in combination with a CR-39 detector. Carbon is impregnated in the bodies of the detector chamber to avoid problem of an electrostatic charge. The optimized etching condition for the CR-39 exposed to a radon environment turned out to be a 6 N NaOH solution at 70^{\circ}$ over a 7hour period. The bulk etch rate under the optimized condition was $1.14{\pm}0.03\;{\mu}m\;h^{-1}$. The diameter of the tracks caused by radon and its progeny were found to be in the range of $10\~25\;{\mu}m$ under the optimized condition. The track images were observed with a track counting system, which consisted of an optical microscope, a color charged couple device (CCD) camera, and an image processor. The calibration factor of this system is obtained to be $0.105{\pm}0.006$ tracks $cm^2$ per Bq $m^{-3}$ d.