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A pilot study of indoor thoron and 212Pb concentrations in residential buildings in Ekaterinburg, Russia

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Abstract

A pilot study of the concentrations of thoron and 212Pb in the air of residential premises in Ekaterinburg was carried out. The arithmetic mean of thoron concentration in the center of the room was 35.7, near the wall 85.2 Bq m−3 respectively. For rooms in the buildings constructed with monolithic and aerated concrete, the average concentration of thoron was 73 ± 17 Bq m−3, brick—19 ± 5 Bq m−3, concrete panels—16 ± 6 Bq m−3. Simultaneous measurements of the 212Pb and radon concentrations during 3–5 days in combination with long-term measurements of radon concentration allows to estimate the long-term concentration of 212Pb with an uncertainty ~ 25%.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 19-19-00191). The authors are grateful to volunteers who took part in the measurements of thoron and 212Pb concentrations in their apartments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, 20 Sophy Kovalevskoy St., Ekaterinburg, Russia, 620990

    Alexandra D. Onishchenko, Michael V. Zhukovsky & Vyacheslav S. Izgagin

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  1. Alexandra D. Onishchenko
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  2. Michael V. Zhukovsky
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  3. Vyacheslav S. Izgagin
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Correspondence to Michael V. Zhukovsky.

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Onishchenko, A.D., Zhukovsky, M.V. & Izgagin, V.S. A pilot study of indoor thoron and 212Pb concentrations in residential buildings in Ekaterinburg, Russia. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331, 851–858 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-08127-7

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