Radon and Thoron Exhalation Rate in the soil of Western Haryana, India

Abstract

Abstract This study, reports the exhalation rates of radon and thoron from surface soil collected from 60 rural sites of district Hisar, Haryana, India. The exhalation rates of Rn222 (Radon)& Rn220(Thoron) were measured by portable SMART RnDuo (AQTEK SYSTEMS) using a mass accumulation chamber which is equipped with a scintillation material coated cell. Dose rate due to Natural gamma radiations ranged 0.526 to 1.139 mSv y− 1. The Rn222mass exhalation rate in soil samples varied from 0.14 to 94.65 mBq kg− 1 h− 1. Thoron surface exhalation rates ranged 46.42 to 619.88 mBq m− 2 h− 1. This study give an idea about the differences in Rn222 & Rn220 exhalation at different locations which may be due to variations in geological structure of the locations and characteristics of the top soil.The findings show that using soil of the study area as building material is safe.