<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">More than half of the total natural ionizing radiation dose received by the human population is caused by radon and thoron (Rn and Tn) and their progeny. To estimate the level of radiation due to radon and thoron and their progeny, an investigation was conducted in a residential area near the world’s largest open-pit mine of Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, China. The concentration of Rn, Tn, and their decay products in air and soil were studied by using AlphaGUARD, RAD7, and ERS-RDM-2S for a discrete period of time in three different locations. The average indoor concentration of radon and thoron was 62.6 ± 44.6 Bq/m3 and 108.3 ± 94.5 Bq/m3 respectively, and the outdoor concentration was 12.9 ± 6.3 Bq/m3 and 55.8 ± 18.5 Bq/m3, respectively. Relatively high concentrations were recorded in the area near to the mine, with a significant increasing trend observed in indoor thoron concentration. A prominent hotspot in thoron concentration was found in a single-story house with values 747 ± 150 Bq/m3. The equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration (EECTn) varies from 0.48 Bq/m3 to 2.36 Bq/m3 with an arithmetic mean of 1.37 ± 0.64 Bq/m3, and comparatively higher than EECRn. Concluding that the mining activity at Bayan Obo mine is significantly increasing the level of indoor thoron and its progeny in surroundings. It is suggested to further systematically investigate the indoor Rn and Tn progeny concentrations in the residential dwellings of the Bayan Obo mining area, and 232Th content of the building materials, to provide a basis for calculating the radiation dose.</abstract>

More than half of the total natural ionizing radiation dose received by the human population is caused by radon and thoron (Rn and Tn) and their progeny. To estimate the level of radiation due to radon and thoron and their progeny, an investigation was conducted in a residential area near the world’s largest open-pit mine of Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, China. The concentration of Rn, Tn, and their decay products in air and soil were studied by using AlphaGUARD, RAD7, and ERS-RDM-2S for a discrete period of time in three different locations. The average indoor concentration of radon and thoron was 62.6 ± 44.6 Bq/m3 and 108.3 ± 94.5 Bq/m3 respectively, and the outdoor concentration was 12.9 ± 6.3 Bq/m3 and 55.8 ± 18.5 Bq/m3, respectively. Relatively high concentrations were recorded in the area near to the mine, with a significant increasing trend observed in indoor thoron concentration. A prominent hotspot in thoron concentration was found in a single-story house with values 747 ± 150 Bq/m3. The equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration (EECTn) varies from 0.48 Bq/m3 to 2.36 Bq/m3 with an arithmetic mean of 1.37 ± 0.64 Bq/m3, and comparatively higher than EECRn. Concluding that the mining activity at Bayan Obo mine is significantly increasing the level of indoor thoron and its progeny in surroundings. It is suggested to further systematically investigate the indoor Rn and Tn progeny concentrations in the residential dwellings of the Bayan Obo mining area, and 232Th content of the building materials, to provide a basis for calculating the radiation dose.

Indoor and outdoor 222Rn and 220Rn and their progeny levels surrounding Bayan Obo mine, China

China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Nukleonika

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Indoor and outdoor Rn and Rn and their progeny levels surrounding Bayan Obo mine, China

More than half of the total natural ionizing radiation dose received by the human population is caused by radon and thoron (Rn and Tn) and their progeny. To...

Indoor and outdoor ²²²Rn and ²²⁰Rn and their progeny levels surrounding Bayan Obo mine, China

Published Online: May 29, 2020

Page range: 145 - 148

Received: Dec 06, 2019

Accepted: Jan 27, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nuka-2020-0023

Keywords
Radon, Thoron, Radon and thoron progeny, Equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration, Rn equilibrium factor, Bayan Obo

© 2020 Nanping Wang et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Indoor and outdoor 222Rn and 220Rn and their progeny levels surrounding Bayan Obo mine, China

Published Online: May 29, 2020

Page range: 145 - 148

Received: Dec 06, 2019

Accepted: Jan 27, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nuka-2020-0023

KeywordsRadon, Thoron, Radon and thoron progeny, Equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration, Rn equilibrium factor, Bayan Obo

© 2020 Nanping Wang et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Indoor and outdoor ²²²Rn and ²²⁰Rn and their progeny levels surrounding Bayan Obo mine, China

Keywords
Radon, Thoron, Radon and thoron progeny, Equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration, Rn equilibrium factor, Bayan Obo