Preliminary integrated indoor radon measurements in Transylvania (Romania)

• Published in: Isotopes in environmental and health studies 2009-09, Vol.45 (3), p.259-268
• Main Authors: Cosma, Constantin, Szacsvai, Kinga, Dinu, Alexandra, Ciorba, Daniela, Dicu, Tiberius, Suciu, Liviu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis; annual effective dose; Construction Materials - adverse effects; Construction Materials - analysis; Environmental Exposure - analysis; Housing; Humans; indoor exposure; ionogenic radiation exposure; lung cancer risk; Lung Neoplasms - etiology; natural radioactivity; Radon - analysis; radon-222; Risk Factors; Romania; Seasons
• ISSN: 1025-6016; 1477-2639
• DOI: 10.1080/10256010902871895

Measurements of indoor radon concentrations were performed in 406 residential houses in five counties (Cluj, Bihor, Alba, Bistrita, and Sibiu) using Makrofol and CR-39 alpha-track detectors. From our measurements, an average indoor radon concentration of 82.5 Bq m −3 for the Transylvanian population was calculated, i.e. an annual effective dose of 2.4 mSv for the whole body. The calculated dose is 62% higher than that previously reported but yet below the recommended action level of ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection). A log-normal distribution of the radon concentration was obtained for the studied counties, excluding some higher values from the Stei region - a radon-prone area in Transylvania. For the Stei region, the data show a dual log-normal distribution of the radon concentration with the second maximum being related to the houses built using uranium waste as a construction material. Assuming a cancer risk coefficient of 10 −4 /100 Bq m −3  year −1 , one can estimate that about 600 lung cancer per year, for about 7,000,000 inhabitants of the Transylvania region, are due to radon inhalation.