Measurement of Indoor Radon Concentration in Some Selected Offices of Adigrat University, Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Nigus Alene Assefa, Department of Physics, Mekelle University, Tigray, Ethiopia
Munaj Kumar Bhardwaj, Department of Physics, Mekelle University, Tigray, Ethiopia
Received: Sep. 3, 2019; Accepted: Sep. 29, 2019; Published: Oct. 10, 2019
Radon is an inert radioactive gas. A long term exposure to high concentration of radon causes lung cancer. Taking this into account, an investigation in some offices of Adigrat Universityhas been made to estimate the radon concentrations and to determine the health risk of the workers in the community. In the present study, Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (LR-115 type II) has been used to measure the emission of radon from 12 offices for a period of 3 months. After an exposure time of 3 months, films were removed from each office andtaken for etching. After the etching, films were washed with distilled water and allowed to dry for 1day. Finally, alpha tracks were counted using an optical microscope at magnification power of 400X. Results obtained in the present study show that the value of concentration of radon ranges from 171.31 Bq.m−3 to 394.05 Bq.m−3 with mean concentration273.79 Bq.m−3 and standard deviation of 79.7Bq.m−3 and the inhalation dose rate varies from a minimum of 1.54 mSv.y−1 to a maximum of 3.55 mSv.y−1 with an average of 2.46 mSv.y−1 and standard deviation of 0.72 mSv.y−1. Even though, radon concentration levels were found to be higher the inhalation dose rate is safe within recommended limits
Radon Concentration, LR-115 Plastic Track Detectors, Offices
Nigus Alene Assefa, Munaj Kumar Bhardwaj, Measurement of Indoor Radon Concentration in Some Selected Offices of Adigrat University, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, Radiation Science and Technology. Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019, pp. 11-14. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20190502.11
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