Assessment of indoor radon concentration in residential homes and public places in south of Tehran, Iran

摘要

Radon as primary source of natural radiation, is the second leading environmental cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoke. Radon gas is important sources of natural radiation. The aim of this study was to measure the concentration of radon gas in residential homes and public places in Kahrizak city and in the buildings near faults. Totally, 37 residential homes (two detectors at each home), and 23 public places (one detector in each place) were studied. The indoor radon concentration in the ground floor of residential homes and public places was measured by a long-term passive method using CR-39 detector. Data were analyzed by SPSS and GIS software. In the residential homes, radon concentration range was 25.1-130.2 +/- 19.0 with average of 60.3Bq/m(3) and in public places, radon concentration range was 18.9-95.6 +/- 21.9 with average of 55.8Bq/m(3). Majority of residential homes and public places had an effective annual dose of 0.8-1.6mSv/y. 28.1% and 26.0% of the total measured concentration of residential homes and public places were in acceptable range based on the U.S.EPA, respectively.