Seasonal changeability of indoor radon concentrations in one-family house

Radon (Rn) is a naturally occurring radioactive element, a noble gas that is produced in radium disintegration. Radon has the biggest contribution to the effective dose obtained by population. Increased morbidity of lung cancer in uranium miners and an observation that radon exposure in certain houses may be comparable to the exposure in uranium mines have caused the increase of interest in radon. In 1988 International Agency for Research on Cancer considered radon to be the first class carcinogenic. Indoor radon concentration undergoes 24-hour and seasonal changes. Seasonal changeability of radon concentrations is a well-known phenomenon observed in various parts of the world [1, 2, 6, 7, 16, 17]. Many factors, like geology and climate, may have an influence on the character of this changeability. Knowledge of averaged radon concentrations is required to assess exposure to radon and its possible effects. Corrective coefficients are used to generalize radon concentrations to the annual mean due to seasonal changeability of radon concentrations [8, 14]. It is also possible to recognize that concentrations in certain seasons are closer to the annual mean than in other seasons [4]. In order to determine the character of radon concentration changeability in the northeastern Poland, yearly measurements of radon concentrations were performed. The measurements were accompanied by weather parameter observations. The paper presents first results of radon concentration changeability in one of the buildings. Seasonal changeability of indoor radon concentrations in one-family house Maria Karpińska, Zenon Mnich, Jacek Kapała, Krzysztof Antonowicz