| Peer-Reviewed

Assessment of Radon Concentration within Construction Materials Used in Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

Received: 8 August 2017     Accepted: 15 September 2017     Published: 10 October 2017
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

The inhalation of radon decay products is the second most leading reasons for lung cancer after smoking. Building materials are an important source of indoor radon. This article describes the determination of the exhalation rate of radon from construction materials by the use of commercially available digital radon measuring device. Six types of construction materials were collected from the study area; these are cement, metal, sand, rock, clay brisk and gypsum. The measurements of effective radium content and radon concentration in those materials were investigated. The concentration was measured by alpha spectroscopy detection technique with Corentium digital radon detector. It was found that the overall average radon concentration in the construction materials varied from 58.46 Bq/m3 to 307.84 Bq/m3, which is above the recommended action level. The average effective radium content varies from 69.85 Bq/kg to 367.79 Bq/kg which is below the maximum permissible value of 370 Bq/kg as recommended by Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) but it is near to maximum, so it can pose significant threat to the population. The average annual effective inhalation dose varied from 0.53 mSv/yto 2.77 mSv/y. The mean excess lung cancer risk estimated by this work was found to range from 1.17% to 6.16% within average value of 2.92%. The average of Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) is greater than with the estimated risk of 1.3% due to a radon exposure of 148 Bqm–3 which is the action level of Environmental protection agency (EPA). The mass exhalation rates of radon vary from 14.98 × 10−6 to 97.91 × 10−6 Bq.kg−1.d−1 with a mean value of 57.91×10−6 Bq.kg−1.d−1. The surface exhalation rates of radon have been found to vary from 23.85 × 10−5 to 155.91 ×10−5 Bq.kg−1.d−1 with a mean value of 91.46 ×10−5 Bq.kg−1.d−1. This indicates the contributions of construction materials in the indoor radon are very high.

Published in Radiation Science and Technology (Volume 3, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11
Page(s) 41-46
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Effective Radium Content, Radon Exhalation Rates, Inhalation dose, Life Fatality Risk, Corentium Radon Detector

References
[1] UNSCEAR. (2000). United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. New York.
[2] International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), (1999). Protection of the Public in Situations of Prolonged Radiation Exposure, Publication 82, Elsevier Science B. V.
[3] Ael Taher. (2011). Assessment of natural radioactivity levels and radiation hazards for building materials used in assim area, saudi Arabia, Journ. Phys., Vol. 57, Nos. 3–4, P. 726–735
[4] Mark Baskaran (2016), Radon: Atracer for geological, geophysical and geotechnical studies, ISBN 978-3-319-21329-3, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-213293
[5] WHO (World Health Organization). (2009). WHO hand book on indoor radon, ISBN 978 92 4 154767 3.
[6] Mohd Zubair, M Shakir Khan Deepak Verma, (2011). Radium Studies in Sand Samples Collected from Sea Coast of Tirur, Kerala, India Using LR-115 Plastic Track Detectors; Int. J. Appl. Sci. Eng., 211 (9): 143.
[7] Nigus Maregu & Bhardwaj M. K. (2015). Risk assessments of radium content and radon exhalation rates in soil samples of Shire Indaslassie area, Ethiopia, I. J. E. M. S., VOL.6 (3): 114–118.
[8] Abdalsattar K. Hahim, Laith A. Najam. (2015). Concentrations, radium content and radon exhalation rate in Iraqian Building materials samples, International journals of physics ( 3), 159-164.
[9] Anil Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahur, R. G. Sonkawade, A. C. Sharma, Raj Kumar and Rajendra Prasad. (2014). Radon exhalation in some building construction materials and effect of plastering and paints on the radon exhalation rate using fired bricks, Advances in Applied Science Research, 2014, 5(2): 382-386.
[10] EPA, (2003). Assessment of Risk from Radon in Homes (Washington, DC: Environmental Protection Agency) EPA 402-R03-003, USA.
[11] Sahar A. Amin. (2015 ) Measurements of radon exhalation rates in building materials used in Iraqi houses, Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 4, Issue 4, 2, 437-442.
[12] Sintie Welelaw & Bhardwaj M. K., (2013). Assessment of hazards due to radon’s mass and surface exhalation rates, and radium content in soil samples of Lalibela, Ethiopia, I. J. E. M. S., VOL. 4 (4): 445-448.
[13] Nigus Maregu. and Tilahun G. (2017). Indoor Radon Concentration and its Associated Health Effect in the Dwellings of Fiche Selale North Shewa, Ethiopia, Journal of Natural Sciences Research, 7 (7): 43-47.
[14] Hohhamed Ali, Aziz Ahmed Qureshi, Abdul Waheed, Muzahir Ali Baloch, Hamza Qayyum, Muhhamed Tufai, Hameed Ahmed Khan. (2011), Assesemments of radiological hazard of NORM in Margalla Hills limestone, Pakistan, Environ. Monit. Assess DOI 10.1007/s10661-0112290-5, Springer
[15] L. Fior J. Nicolosi Correa, S. A. Paschuk, V. V. Denyak, H. R. Schelin, B. R. Soreanu Pecequilo, J. Kappke,. (2012). Activity measurements of radon from construction materials, Applied radiation and isotopes (70), 1407-1410.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Nigus Maregu Demewoz. (2017). Assessment of Radon Concentration within Construction Materials Used in Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia. Radiation Science and Technology, 3(5), 41-46. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Nigus Maregu Demewoz. Assessment of Radon Concentration within Construction Materials Used in Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia. Radiat. Sci. Technol. 2017, 3(5), 41-46. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Nigus Maregu Demewoz. Assessment of Radon Concentration within Construction Materials Used in Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia. Radiat Sci Technol. 2017;3(5):41-46. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11,
      author = {Nigus Maregu Demewoz},
      title = {Assessment of Radon Concentration within Construction Materials Used in Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia},
      journal = {Radiation Science and Technology},
      volume = {3},
      number = {5},
      pages = {41-46},
      doi = {10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rst.20170305.11},
      abstract = {The inhalation of radon decay products is the second most leading reasons for lung cancer after smoking. Building materials are an important source of indoor radon. This article describes the determination of the exhalation rate of radon from construction materials by the use of commercially available digital radon measuring device. Six types of construction materials were collected from the study area; these are cement, metal, sand, rock, clay brisk and gypsum. The measurements of effective radium content and radon concentration in those materials were investigated. The concentration was measured by alpha spectroscopy detection technique with Corentium digital radon detector. It was found that the overall average radon concentration in the construction materials varied from 58.46 Bq/m3 to 307.84 Bq/m3, which is above the recommended action level. The average effective radium content varies from 69.85 Bq/kg to 367.79 Bq/kg which is below the maximum permissible value of 370 Bq/kg as recommended by Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) but it is near to maximum, so it can pose significant threat to the population. The average annual effective inhalation dose varied from 0.53 mSv/yto 2.77 mSv/y. The mean excess lung cancer risk estimated by this work was found to range from 1.17% to 6.16% within average value of 2.92%. The average of Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) is greater than with the estimated risk of 1.3% due to a radon exposure of 148 Bqm–3 which is the action level of Environmental protection agency (EPA). The mass exhalation rates of radon vary from 14.98 × 10−6 to 97.91 × 10−6 Bq.kg−1.d−1 with a mean value of 57.91×10−6 Bq.kg−1.d−1. The surface exhalation rates of radon have been found to vary from 23.85 × 10−5 to 155.91 ×10−5 Bq.kg−1.d−1 with a mean value of 91.46 ×10−5 Bq.kg−1.d−1. This indicates the contributions of construction materials in the indoor radon are very high.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Assessment of Radon Concentration within Construction Materials Used in Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia
    AU  - Nigus Maregu Demewoz
    Y1  - 2017/10/10
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11
    T2  - Radiation Science and Technology
    JF  - Radiation Science and Technology
    JO  - Radiation Science and Technology
    SP  - 41
    EP  - 46
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5943
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20170305.11
    AB  - The inhalation of radon decay products is the second most leading reasons for lung cancer after smoking. Building materials are an important source of indoor radon. This article describes the determination of the exhalation rate of radon from construction materials by the use of commercially available digital radon measuring device. Six types of construction materials were collected from the study area; these are cement, metal, sand, rock, clay brisk and gypsum. The measurements of effective radium content and radon concentration in those materials were investigated. The concentration was measured by alpha spectroscopy detection technique with Corentium digital radon detector. It was found that the overall average radon concentration in the construction materials varied from 58.46 Bq/m3 to 307.84 Bq/m3, which is above the recommended action level. The average effective radium content varies from 69.85 Bq/kg to 367.79 Bq/kg which is below the maximum permissible value of 370 Bq/kg as recommended by Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) but it is near to maximum, so it can pose significant threat to the population. The average annual effective inhalation dose varied from 0.53 mSv/yto 2.77 mSv/y. The mean excess lung cancer risk estimated by this work was found to range from 1.17% to 6.16% within average value of 2.92%. The average of Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) is greater than with the estimated risk of 1.3% due to a radon exposure of 148 Bqm–3 which is the action level of Environmental protection agency (EPA). The mass exhalation rates of radon vary from 14.98 × 10−6 to 97.91 × 10−6 Bq.kg−1.d−1 with a mean value of 57.91×10−6 Bq.kg−1.d−1. The surface exhalation rates of radon have been found to vary from 23.85 × 10−5 to 155.91 ×10−5 Bq.kg−1.d−1 with a mean value of 91.46 ×10−5 Bq.kg−1.d−1. This indicates the contributions of construction materials in the indoor radon are very high.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Departments of Physics, College of Natural and Computational Science, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

  • Sections