Speaker
Description
The International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommends to consider a dose coefficient of 20 mSv WLM-1 for workers in tourist caves instead of 10 mSv WLM-1 generally applicable to the majority of circumstances [1]. Furthermore, the radon concentration in touristic caves is generally higher than in the majority of workplaces and the remedial actions are typically very difficult to be implemented [2].
The effective dose due to the inhalation of radon progeny can be reduced by face masks. Some different works have recently investigated the effectiveness of different masks in filtering the radon progeny [3-5]. However, the reduction of the radon daughters inhaled has been measured by experimental apparatuses that only consider the filtering effectiveness throughout the tissue of the mask: i.e., the reduction in the filtration capability due to the morphology of the human face is always neglected.
A novel experimental apparatus has been developed at the Italian National Institute of Health to specifically investigate the overall filtering effectiveness of facial mask relative to the radon progeny. The objectives of the project as well as the design of the setup is described. The experimental evaluations to be performed by this novel apparatus will take place from September 2024 and the results for the first typologies of mask will be available by the end of 2024. The further development of the setup currently being studied are also presented.
- ICRP, Occupational intakes of radionuclides: Part 3, in ICRP Publication. 2017.
- Sainz, C., et al., Analysis of the main factors affecting the evaluation of the radon dose in workplaces: The case of tourist caves. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2007. 145(3): p. 368-371.
- Abbasi, A., et al., The effect of face masks on the filtration rate of Radon (222Rn) gas and its progeny in breathing air. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2023. 332(12): p. 5017-5022.
- Hinrichs, A., et al., Radon Progeny Adsorption on Facial Masks. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022. 19(18).
- Martínez, J.E., B. Juste, and G. Verdú, Study of the filtration efficiency of radon progeny in facial masks. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2024. 223.