Measurement of the radon exhalation rate and effective radium concentration in soil samples of southern Sakarya, Turkey

Abstract

In the present study, radon exhalation rates in terms of mass and area, as well as the effective radium concentration in soil samples collected simultaneously from different districts of southern Sakarya have been measured by Sealed Can technique using LR-115 type-II detectors. Mass and areal radon exhalation rates in soil samples vary from 35.76 ± 1.5 to 253.15 ± 3.8 mBqkg−1h−1 with an average value of 112.53 ± 2.7 mBqkg−1h−1 and 0.73 ± 0.2 to 5.18 ± 0.6 Bqm−2h−1 with an average value of 2.30 ± 0.6 Bqm−2h−1, respectively. The effective radium content was found to vary in the range 3.77 ± 0.5 to 26.69 ± 1.3 Bqkg−1 with an average value of 11.86 ± 0.9 Bqkg−1. The area exhalation rate was also used to calculate indoor radon concentration contributed by radon exhalation from soil, and to estimate annual effective dose equivalent. While the indoor radon concentration contributed by radon exhalation from soil varies from 2.93 ± 0.9 to 20.73 ± 2.3 Bqm−3 with an average value of 9.22 ± 1.5 Bqm−3, the estimated effective dose equivalent varies from 0.09 to 0.61 mSvy−1 with an average value of 0.27 mSvy−1.