RADON-222 CONCENTRATION IN AIR: A CASE STUDY OF AYEDUASE TOWNSHIP, KUMASI, GHANA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ejt.900Keywords:
Radon, Effective Dose, Annual Effective dose (AED), indoor radon, Air pressure differentials (APD), Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM).Abstract
Objective: Radon levels in structures (interior environment) were measured in many dwellings and hostels in Ayeduase Township, Ashanti Region, Ghana. The purpose of this study was to quantify radon toxicity in the Ayeduase community, which houses approximately half of the students at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, and to determine the risk levels for individuals (categorized as infants, children, and adults) living in the community's various suburbs.
Materials and Methods: Households in Ayeduase had an average of four people per room. The radon in air concentration was measured with a continuous radon monitor using continuous active sampling approach. Multiple measurements were taken at tight space-time intervals over a period of 24 hours. The Continuous Radon Monitor was installed in dwelling rooms in zones where the monitor could record fresh air entering the room. The yearly effective dose was computed using the Mondal 3 Software.
Results: The continuous sample air radon concentration in Ayeduase Township was found to be in the range of 8.510 0.05607 Bq/m3 to 11.100 0.6379 Bq/m3. The manually computed effective annual dose rate for indoor air radon was 0.3494 mSv/year to 0.4558 mSv/year for babies, 0.0683 mSv/year to 0.0891 mSv/year for children, and 0.0559 mSv/year to 0.0729 mSv/year for adults. The comparative results from the Mondal 3 Software showed that the effective annual dose rate for indoor air ranged from 0.32 mSv/year to 0.37 mSv/year, with an average of 0.36 mSv/year for infants, 0.11 mSv/year to 0.14 mSv/year, with an average of 0.12 mSv/year for children, and 0.084 mSv/year to 0.097 mSv/year, with an average of 0.94 mSv/year for adults.
Conclusion: Ayeduase's radon toxicity profile in terms of air showed distinct features. The maximum value of indoor air radon concentration level determined was lower than the global average value of 40 Bq/m3 of indoor radon concentration level and also lower than the reference level of 100 Bq/m3. In Ayeduase, the estimated average effective dosage over a year for babies, children, and adults were lower than the 1.2 mSv/year indicated by ICRP Publication 126.
Recommendation: Radon toxicity due to water and soil sources are required to access the total toxicity levels in the township. Reliable evaluation of the potential for human exposure to radon depends in part on the reliability of supporting analytical data from environmental samples and biological specimens is highly recommended, as well as, concentrations of radon in unpolluted atmospheres and in pristine surface waters are typically within the limits of current analytical methods.
Downloads
References
Radiation: Effects and Sources. United Nations Environment Programme 2016. Available from, as of Jun 14, 2017: https://www.unscear.org
National Center for Biotechnology Information (2022). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 24857, Radon. Retrieved January 7, 2022 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Radon.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation UNSCEAR 2000 Report to the General Assembly, with scientific annexes. UNSCEAR 2000 REPORT Vol. I SOURCES AND EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION
Bochicchio F, Mclaughlin JP, Piermattel S. Radon in indoor air. Brussels: European Commission; 1995. (European Collaborative Action – Indoor Air Quality and its Impact on Man, Report No. 15)
International Commission on Radiological Protection ICRP, 1993. Protection against Radon-222 at Home and at Work. ICRP Publication 65. Ann. ICRP 23 (2)
Darby, S., Hill, D., Auvinen, A., Barros-Dios, J. M., Baysson, H., Bochicchio , F., Deo, H., Falk, R., Forastiere, F., Hakama, M., Heid, I., Kreienbrock, L., Kreuzer, M., Lagarde, F., Mäkeläinen, I., Muirhead, C., Oberaigner, W., Pershagen, G., Ruano-Ravina, A., Ruosteenoja, E., Schaffrath Rosario, A., Tirmarche, M., Tomášek, L., Whitley, E., Wichmann, H. E. and Doll, R. (2005) Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case-control studies. British Medical Journal; 330:223
Efstratios, G. V and Dimitrios, N. (2014). Radon Sources and Associated Risk in Terms of Exposure and Dose. Front Public Health. 2: 207
Appleton, J. D. (2007) Radon: Sources, Health Risks, and Hazard Mapping. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 36 (1):85-89
Lubin, J. H., Wang, Z. Y., Boice, J. D. Jr., Xu, Z. Y., Blot, W. J., De Wang, L., Kleinerman, R. A. (2004) Risk of lung cancer and residential radon in China: pooled results of two studies. Int. J. Cancer: 109, 132–137
Barros-Dios, J. M., Ruano-Ravina, A, Gastelu-Iturri, J., Figueiras, A. (2006) Factors underlying residential radon concentration: Results from Galicia, Spain. Elsevier – Environmental Research. 103, 2, 185-190.
Papaefthymiou, H., Mavroudis, A., Kritidis, P. (2003) Indoor radon levels and influencing factors in houses of Patras, Greece. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 66, 3, 247-60
Kyusun Lee, Sooyun Seo, Seo, Juhee Yoo, Sujin Oh, Myunghee Kwon, Wooseok Lee (2016). Factors influencing indoor radon concentration in detached houses. Journal of Odor and Indoor Environment. 15, 2, (93-99)
A. M. M. Yousef, K. Zimami (2020). Indoor radon levels, influencing factors and annual effective doses in dwellings of Al-Kharj City, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences. 12, 1, (460-467).
T. Čechák, A. Froňka, L. Moučka (2004) Indoor Radon Concentration And Outdoor/Indoor Pressure Difference Correlation. European conference on protection against radon at home and at work, Prague (Czech Republic) page(s) 309-312 https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/36/010/36010948.pdf Date Accessed: 2022-01-08
Al-Ahmady, K.K., & Hintenlang, D.E. (1994). ASSESSMENT OF TEMPERATURE-DRIVEN PRESSURE DIFFERENCES WITH REGARD TO RADON ENTRY AND INDOOR RADON CONCENTRATION.
Khan, A.J. (2000) A study of indoor radon levels in Indian dwellings, influencing factors and lung cancer risks. Radiation Measurements. 32 (2); 87-92.
Turk, B. H., Prill R. J., Grimsrud, D. T., Moed, B. A., Sextro, R. G. (2012) Characterizing the Occurrence, Sources, and Variability of Radon in Pacific Northwest Homes. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. 40, 4, 498-506.
Sundal, A.V., Henriksen, H., Soldal O., Strand, T. (2004) The influence of geological factors on indoor radon concentrations in Norway. Science of the Total Environment 328, 41-53.
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Lung Cancer Risk from Radon and Progeny and Statement on Radon. ICRP Publication 115, Ann. ICRP 40, (2010).
A citizen’s guide to radon: The Guide to Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Radon. US EPA Radon Publication 2016.
Ishikawa, T., Yasuoka, Y., Tokonami, S., Takahashi, H., Suda, H. (2009) Characterization of airborne radon released by domestic showering and the use of a washing machine. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-008-7340-2
Carrillo, G. A., Inostrosa, M.A., Rangel, Y. B. (2015). Radon and its effects on the health of uranium mine workers. Medicina y Seguridad del trabajo 61, 238, 99-111,
Lubin, J.H., Qiao, Y. L., Taylor, P. R., Yao S. X., Schatzkin, A., Mao, B. L., Rao, J. Y., Xuan, X. Z., Li, J. Y. (1990). Quantitative Evaluation of the Radon and Lung Cancer Association in a Case-Control Study of Chinese Tin Miners. CANCER RESEARCH. 50, 174-180
Axelson, O. (1991). Occupational and Environmental Exposures to Radon: Cancer Risks. Annual Revised Health Journal. 12, 235-55,
Finkelstein, M. M. (1996). Clinical measures, smoking, radon exposure, and risk of lung cancer in uranium miners. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 53, 697-702,
Grundy, A., Brand, K., Khandwala, F., Poirier, A., Tamminen, S., Friedenreich, C. M., Brenner, D. R. (2017). Lung cancer incidence is attributable to residential radon exposure in Alberta in 2012 Canadian Medical Association Journal. 5, 529 – 534,
Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VI), the Health Effects of Exposure to Indoor Radon. 18, (1999).
ATSDR. 1990c. Toxicological profile for radon. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Atlanta, GA (1990)
WHO Handbook on Indoor Radon: A Public Health Perspective (2009)
Bailey, M. R., Ansoborlo, E., Guilmette, R. A., Paquet, F. (2007) Updating the ICRP human respiratory tract model. Radiation Protection Dosimetry. 127, 31-4,
Eisenbud M, Gesell T, eds; Environmental Radioactivity. 4th ed. New York, NY: Academic Press pp. 152, 560 (1997)
Fujiyoshi Ret al; Chemosphere 47: 369-373 (2002)
Taylor, D. M. (1996) Human Respiratory Tract Model for Radiological Protection. Journal of Radiological Protection. 16, https://doi.org/10.1088/0952-4746/16/1/013
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP): Dose Coefficients for Intakes of Radionuclides by Workers. ICRP Publication 68. Ann. ICRP 24, 4, (1994).
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 66, Human Respiratory Tract Model for Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 66. Ann. ICRP 24, 1-3, (1994).
Wemegah, D.D. Fiandaca, G., Auken, E., Menyeh, A. and Danuor, S.K. (2017). Spectral time-domain induced polarization and magnetic surveying − an efficient tool for characterization of solid waste deposits in developing countries. EAGE, Near Surface Geophysics, 15, 1, 75-84
Danso, A. K. and Hammond, S. F. (2017). Level of Satisfaction with Private Hostels around KNUST Campus. International Journal of Science and Technology.
ICRP 65, (1993) "Protection Against Rn-222 at Home and Work" International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication, 65, Annals of ICRP 23 (2), Pergamon Press; Oxford
Afolabi, O. T., Esan, D. T., Banjoko, B., Fajewonyomi, B. A., Tobih, J. E., and Olubodun, B. B. (2015) Radon level in a Nigerian University Campus. BioMed Central Research Notes. 8, 677.
Marcinowski, F., Lucas, R. M., Yeager, W.M. (1994) National and regional distributions of airborne radon concentrations in U.S. homes. . Health Physics Journal. 66, 6, 699-706.
Swedgemark, G.A., Mjönes, L. (1984) Radon and Radon Daughter Concentrations in Swedish Homes Radiation Protection Dosimetry. 7, 1-4, 341–345.
Oikawa, S., Kanno, N., Sanada, T., Abukawa, J., Higuchi, H. (2006) A survey of indoor workplace radon concentration in Japan Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 87, 3, 239-245.
Vaupotič, J., Hunyadi, I., Baradács, E. (2001) Thorough investigation of radon in a school with elevated levels. Radiation Measurements. 34, 1– 6, 477-482.
Gaidolfi, L., Malisan, M.R., Bucci, S., Cappai, M., Bonomi, M., Verdi, L., Bochicchio, F. (1998) Radon Measurements in Kindergartens and Schools of Six Italian Regions. Radiation Protection Dosimetry. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a032337
Bochicchio, F., Žunić, Z. S., Carpentieri, C., Antignani, S., Venoso, G., Carelli, V., Cordedda, C., Veselinović, N., Tollefsen, T., Bossew, P. (2014) Radon in the indoor air of primary schools: a systematic survey to evaluate factors affecting radon concentration levels and their variability. International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12073
Salim, D. A., Ebrahiem, S. A. (2019) Measurement of Radon Concentration in College of Education for Pure Science / Ibn Al- Haitham Buildings Using CR-39 Detector. Energy Procedia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2018.11.258
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP): Radiological Protection against Radon Exposure. ICRP Publication 126. Ann. ICRP 43(3), (2014)
Maryam Y., Abbas S., Hassan M. M. (2016) Estimation of the residential radon levels and the annual effective dose in dwellings of Shiraz, Iran, in 2015. Electronic Physician. 6, 6, 2496.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
