The activity of radon daughters in high-rise buildings.
Abstract Forty measurements are reported in similar rooms in two high-rise buildings. The geometrical means for the concentration of radon daughters including and excluding the basement results, respectively, were 0.90 and 1.00 mWL, which is less than the quoted mean 2.0 mWL for 65 measurements in typical houses in the same city. The frequency distribution of these measurements shows a log-normal distribution. The concentrations did not depend on the distance from ground level but may depend on the ventilation rate of the room examined. The correlation between the concentration of radon daughters in WL in rooms above the first floor in the two high-rise buildings with the inverse of their ventilation rate were 0.73 and 0.67, respectively.
Radon concentrations inside castles and other ancient buildings.
Sixty-two measurements of Rn-222 concentrations were made in 24 castles and 13 ancient buildings in 30 different places situated in the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (Northern Italy). The method used was that of activated carbon canisters which were placed in selected settings for at least 48 h in the period starting from December 1990 to May 1991. It was possible to determine the amount of radon in each canister via its daughters gamma emitters counted by NaI(T1) and Ge(I) detectors. The mean radon concentrations were 72 Bq m-3 (arithmetic mean) and 49 Bq m-3 (geometric mean), a good deal higher than the values obtained from measurements carried out in modern dwellings in the same area; 30 Bq m-3 (arithmetic mean) and 19 Bq m-3 (geometric mean).
Mapping of integrated radon emanation for detection of long-distance migration of gases within the Earth: Techniques and principles
Integrated measurements of radon concentrations within the ground but close to the surface are being used extensively in searches for premonitory signals from earthquakes and in exploration for uranium. We present a description of the different components of the radon signals that may be present and describe methods for separating them. We also show quantitatively what signals the different radon-integrating devices are sensitive to, how readings in a given geometry can be related to actual concentrations in the soil gas under conditions of diffusional equilibrium, and what some of the effects of water in soil are. This knowledge allows the magnitude of the local contributions to be measured, so that distant signals can be recognized as departures from these values. The importance of recognizing where upward transport of soil gas occurs is emphasized.