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Attached, unattached fraction of progeny concentrations and equilibrium factor for dose assessments from 222Rn and 220Rn

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Abstract

In this study, measurements of indoor radon (222Rn), thoron (220Rn) and their equilibrium equivalent concentration (EEC) were carried out in 96 dwellings from 22 different villages situated in Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh, India, by using LR-115 type II-based pinhole twin cup dosimeters and deposition-based progeny sensors (DRPS/DTPS). The annual average indoor 222Rn and 220Rn concentrations observed in these dwellings were 63.82 and 89.59 Bq/m3, respectively, while the average EEC (attached + unattached) for 222Rn and 220Rn was 29.28 and 2.74 Bq/m3. For 222Rn (f Rn) and 220Rn (f Tn), the average values of unattached fraction were 0.11 and 0.09, respectively. The equilibrium factors for radon (F Rn) and thoron (F Tn) varied from 0.12 to 0.77 with an average of 0.50, and from 0.01 to 0.34 with an average of 0.05, respectively. The annual inhalation dose due to mouth and nasal breathing was calculated using dose conversion factors and unattached fractions. The indoor annual effective doses for 222Rn (AEDR) and 220Rn (AEDT) were found to be 1.92 and 0.83 mSv a−1, respectively. The values of 222Rn/220Rn concentrations and annual effective doses obtained in the present study are within the safe limits as recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection for indoor dwelling exposure conditions.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, for providing financial assistance (Grant Number 2011/36/27 BRNS) and also grateful to the residents of Himachal Pradesh.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India

    Parminder Singh, Komal Saini & Bikramjit Singh Bajwa

  2. Radiological Physics and Advisory Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 400085, India

    Rosaline Mishra & Bijay Kumar Sahoo

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  1. Parminder Singh
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  2. Komal Saini
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  3. Rosaline Mishra
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  4. Bijay Kumar Sahoo
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  5. Bikramjit Singh Bajwa
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Correspondence to Parminder Singh.

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This manuscript does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Singh, P., Saini, K., Mishra, R. et al. Attached, unattached fraction of progeny concentrations and equilibrium factor for dose assessments from 222Rn and 220Rn. Radiat Environ Biophys 55, 401–410 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-016-0656-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-016-0656-3

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