INDOOR RADON LEVELS ESTIMATION IN DWELLINGS OF HILLAH, IRAQ USING CR-39 DETECTORS

摘要

Presence of radon in dwellings have undesirable effects on human health through inhalation. These effects include lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory infections in children and chronic bronchitis in adults. Indoor radon estimation was carried out in 50 dwellings of Hillah city, Iraq with a solid state nuclear track detector for a period of one year covering summer seasons. Indoor radon concentration and annual effective inhalation in the dwellings were studied. The results show radon concentrations have ranged between 2.33 to 7.21 Bq/ m~3, with an average of 4.11 ± 1.1 Bq/ m~3. On the other hand, the annual effective inhalation has varied between 0.06 to 0.181 mSv/ y, with the mean 0.11 ± 0.01 mSv/ y. The inhalation dose is lower than the action level 3 mSv/ y suggested by ICRP.