INDOOR RADON (222RN) MEASUREMENTS AND ESTIMATION OF ANNUAL EFFECTIVE DOSE IN MVANGAN LOCALITY, SOUTH CAMEROON

Abstract

Abstract The present work was aimed at measuring indoor radon activity concentrations in dwellings in Mvangan locality, South Cameroon, in order to assess the extent of measures that may be necessary for controlling public indoor radon exposure in this area. Measurements were carried out using passive solid-state nuclear track detectors (RADONAVA Inc., RadTrak2, Sweden) following ISO 11665-4 standard. Radon concentration ranged between 36 ± 20 and 150 ± 30 Bq m−3 with arithmetic and geometric means values of 64 ± 25 and 60 ± 1 Bq m−3, respectively. These mean values were greater than worldwide values presented by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), which are, respectively, 40 and 30 Bq m−3. 96% of dwellings that have radon concentrations below the World Health Organization (WHO) reference level of 100 Bq m−3, whereas 4% of dwellings have radon concentrations higher than this level but lower than 300 Bq m−3, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference level. Annual effective doses due to indoor radon ranged between 0.7 and 2.8 mSv y−1 with an arithmetic mean value of 1.2 ± 0.5 mSv y−1. These values were below the lower limit of the ICRP-recommended action level interval 3–10 mSv y−1. It has been observed that annual effective dose received by residents in cement bricks dwellings were not significantly different (P-value = 0.565) than those received by residents in mud dwellings in Mvangan locality. The mean number of persons expected to be diagnosed with or die from cancer (solid cancers and leukemia) were 162 ± 48 (61 ± 25 for males and 101 ± 41 for females) and 82 ± 24 (33 ± 13 for males and 49 ± 20 for females), respectively. The results obtained in this study prove that the populations of Mvangan locality are exposed to a relatively low potential risk of cancer incidence and mortality.