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CFD Modelling of Radiation Exposure from Inhalation of Radon Decay Products During Showering

Received: 25 February 2021     Accepted: 19 March 2021     Published: 26 March 2021
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Abstract

Radon is the most harmful natural contaminant in the indoor atmosphere of the buildings. The noble gas, after cigarette smoke, is the biggest cause of lung cancer, and today the study of its diffusion, distribution, and concentration around the world has attracted many researchers in the field of radiation protection and environmental health. Typically, output data obtained from traditional methods of measuring radon concentration in indoor buildings is limited to information on the average radon concentration. Although these data are highly valuable in identifying buildings with a high risk of radon, it can be misleading to identify the real danger for residents of these buildings. This study aims to investigate the effects of water temperature and water flow rate on radon concentration and distribution inside the showers. Numerical simulations were conducted using CFD. Also, radon concentration in water was determined by the radon detector AlphaGUARD and is used as input in CFD simulation. The results showed that variations in the water flow rate have more influence on radon distribution than the changes in water temperature. Experiments were performed by measuring radon concentrations at different times in the shower room using monitor Radon Scout Plus. The annual effective dose of radon concentration in the shower room was also investigated.

Published in Radiation Science and Technology (Volume 7, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13
Page(s) 15-20
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), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Radon, Temperature, Shower, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Effective Dose

References
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[2] Ouabi H. Modeling of radon and its short-lived decay products emanating from tap water used inside a house: dose to adult members of the public. Appl Radiat Isot. 2009; 67: 115-121.
[3] Barberio MD, Gori F, Barbieri M, Billi A, F Casalati, Franchini S, Lorenzetti L, Petitta M. Optimization of dissolved Radon monitoring in groundwater to contribute to the evaluation of the seismic activity: an experience in central-southern Italy. SN Applied Sciences. 2020; 2: 1392
[4] Oufni L, Misdaq MA, Amrane M. Radon level and radon effective dose rate determination in Moroccan dwellings using SSNTDs. Radiat Measur. 2005; 40: 118.
[5] Matthew Omoniyi Isinkaye, Yinka Ajiboye. Correlations of 226Ra and 222Rn activity concentrations in surface soil and groundwater of basement complex geological area of southwest Nigeria. SN Applied Sciences. 2020; 2: 1008.
[6] Zhou W, Iida T, Moriizumi J, Aoyagi T, Takahashi I. Simulation of the Concentrations and Distributions of Indoor Radon and Thoron. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2001; 93: 357–367.
[7] Akbari K, Mahmoudi J, Ghanbari M. Influence of indoor air conditions on radon concentration in a detached house. J Environ Radioact. 2013; 116: 166.
[8] Rabi R, Oufni L. A theoretical investigation of the distribution of indoor radon concentrations. Indian J Phys. 2017; 91: 471–479.
[9] Chauhan N, Chauhan RP, Joshi M, Agarwal TK, Aggarwal P, Sahoo BK. Study of indoor radon distribution using measurements and CFD modeling. J Environ Radioact. 2014; 136: 105–111.
[10] de With G, de Jong P. CFD modelling of thoron and thoron progeny in the indoor environment. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2011; 145: 138–144.
[11] Rabi R, Oufni L. Study of radon dispersion in typical dwelling using CFD modeling combined with passive-active measurements. Radiat Phys Chem. 2017; 139: 40–48.
[12] Agarwal TK, Joshi M, Sahoo BK, Kanse SD, Sapra BK. Effect of 220Rn gas concentration distribution on its transmission from a delay chamber: evolving a CFD-based uniformity index. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2016; 168: 546–552.
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[14] Correa JN, Paschuk SA, Schelin HR, Barbosa L, Sadula T, Matsuzaki CA Measurements of radon concentraon level in drinking water at urban area of Criba (Brazil). Internaonal Nuclear Atlanc Conference INAC. 2009, Rio.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Rabi Rabi, Lhoucine Oufni, Khamiss Cheikh, El-Houcine Youssoufi, Hamza Badry, et al. (2021). CFD Modelling of Radiation Exposure from Inhalation of Radon Decay Products During Showering. Radiation Science and Technology, 7(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13

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    ACS Style

    Rabi Rabi; Lhoucine Oufni; Khamiss Cheikh; El-Houcine Youssoufi; Hamza Badry, et al. CFD Modelling of Radiation Exposure from Inhalation of Radon Decay Products During Showering. Radiat. Sci. Technol. 2021, 7(1), 15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13

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    AMA Style

    Rabi Rabi, Lhoucine Oufni, Khamiss Cheikh, El-Houcine Youssoufi, Hamza Badry, et al. CFD Modelling of Radiation Exposure from Inhalation of Radon Decay Products During Showering. Radiat Sci Technol. 2021;7(1):15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13,
      author = {Rabi Rabi and Lhoucine Oufni and Khamiss Cheikh and El-Houcine Youssoufi and Hamza Badry and Youssef Errami},
      title = {CFD Modelling of Radiation Exposure from Inhalation of Radon Decay Products During Showering},
      journal = {Radiation Science and Technology},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {15-20},
      doi = {10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rst.20210701.13},
      abstract = {Radon is the most harmful natural contaminant in the indoor atmosphere of the buildings. The noble gas, after cigarette smoke, is the biggest cause of lung cancer, and today the study of its diffusion, distribution, and concentration around the world has attracted many researchers in the field of radiation protection and environmental health. Typically, output data obtained from traditional methods of measuring radon concentration in indoor buildings is limited to information on the average radon concentration. Although these data are highly valuable in identifying buildings with a high risk of radon, it can be misleading to identify the real danger for residents of these buildings. This study aims to investigate the effects of water temperature and water flow rate on radon concentration and distribution inside the showers. Numerical simulations were conducted using CFD. Also, radon concentration in water was determined by the radon detector AlphaGUARD and is used as input in CFD simulation. The results showed that variations in the water flow rate have more influence on radon distribution than the changes in water temperature. Experiments were performed by measuring radon concentrations at different times in the shower room using monitor Radon Scout Plus. The annual effective dose of radon concentration in the shower room was also investigated.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - CFD Modelling of Radiation Exposure from Inhalation of Radon Decay Products During Showering
    AU  - Rabi Rabi
    AU  - Lhoucine Oufni
    AU  - Khamiss Cheikh
    AU  - El-Houcine Youssoufi
    AU  - Hamza Badry
    AU  - Youssef Errami
    Y1  - 2021/03/26
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13
    T2  - Radiation Science and Technology
    JF  - Radiation Science and Technology
    JO  - Radiation Science and Technology
    SP  - 15
    EP  - 20
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5943
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rst.20210701.13
    AB  - Radon is the most harmful natural contaminant in the indoor atmosphere of the buildings. The noble gas, after cigarette smoke, is the biggest cause of lung cancer, and today the study of its diffusion, distribution, and concentration around the world has attracted many researchers in the field of radiation protection and environmental health. Typically, output data obtained from traditional methods of measuring radon concentration in indoor buildings is limited to information on the average radon concentration. Although these data are highly valuable in identifying buildings with a high risk of radon, it can be misleading to identify the real danger for residents of these buildings. This study aims to investigate the effects of water temperature and water flow rate on radon concentration and distribution inside the showers. Numerical simulations were conducted using CFD. Also, radon concentration in water was determined by the radon detector AlphaGUARD and is used as input in CFD simulation. The results showed that variations in the water flow rate have more influence on radon distribution than the changes in water temperature. Experiments were performed by measuring radon concentrations at different times in the shower room using monitor Radon Scout Plus. The annual effective dose of radon concentration in the shower room was also investigated.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Physics (LPM), Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Sliman University, Beni-Mellal, Morocco

  • Department of Physics (LPM), Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Sliman University, Beni-Mellal, Morocco

  • Department of Physics (LEIE), Faculty of Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco

  • Department of Physics (LPM), Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Sliman University, Beni-Mellal, Morocco

  • Department of Physics (LPM), Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Sliman University, Beni-Mellal, Morocco

  • Department of Physics (LEIE), Faculty of Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco

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