Measurement of Indoor Radon, Thoron and Their Progeny Levels in Dwellings of Ambala District, Haryana, Northern India Using Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors

摘要

Presence of radon, thoron and their decay products in household environment are considered a potential health hazard. Measurement of their levels is an important aspect to assess the threat they may pose to humans. Considering this their measurement from the dwellings of Ambala of Northern India has been carried out using passive technique. The indoor radon concentration varied from 4.8 ± 0.2 Bq m –3 to 29.1 ± 1.4 Bq m –3 with an average of 13.0 Bq m –3 while the thoron concentration in the same dwellings varied from 1.2 ± 0.1 Bq m –3 to 69.2 ± 1.8 Bq m –3 with an average of 14.4 Bq m –3 for the autumn season. The radon progeny levels in the dwellings under study varied from 0.52 to 2.80 mWL with an average of 1.40 mWL, while the thoron progeny levels varied from 0.03 to 1.87 mWL with an average of 0.39 mWL for the autumn season. The annual effective dose received by the inhabitants of these dwellings varied from 0.15 mSv to 2.30 mSv and depends upon the ventilation condition of the dwellings.