Indoor radon measurements in a Greek city located in the vicinity of lignite-fired power plants

• Published in: Radiation measurements 2010-10, Vol.45 (9), p.1060-1067
• Main Authors: Manousakas, M., Fouskas, A., Papaefthymiou, H., Koukouliou, V., Siavalas, G., Kritidis, P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Dwellings; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Effective dose; Electric power generation; Electric power plants; Exact sciences and technology; Geochronology; Greece; Indoor; Indoor radon; Isotope geochemistry. Geochronology; Lignite-fired power plants; Passive detectors; Radon; Seasons; Spectrometry
• ISSN: 1350-4487; 1879-0925
• DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2010.07.024

This work presents indoor radon measurements in 42 dwellings in the city of Megalopolis, Southern Greece, located in the vicinity of 2 lignite-fired power plants and examines the effect of season, floor level and age of the dwellings on indoor radon concentration. The radon measurements have been carried out using the LR-115, type II and CR-39 alpha track detectors in “closed-can” geometry. The average annual indoor radon concentration (GM) was found to be 52 Bq m −3, which is well below the recommended action level of the European Union. This value corresponds to an annual effective dose to the population of 1.3 ± 0.4 mSv. Season and age of the examined dwellings represent factors that affected significantly the indoor radon in Megalopolis, while the effect of floor level appeared to be not significant. Radium activity concentration values, measured by γ-ray spectrometry in 20 sub-samples of six soil cores (60–135 cm depth), collected from the surrounding area of the city, were found to be consistent with the Greek and world average values. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that the effect of the lignite-fired power plants on indoor radon concentration in Megalopolis’ dwellings was not significant.