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Description
The Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM of the European Union mandates member states to implement national action plans to address long-term risks from radon exposure. The risk level posed by radon exposure can only be assessed based on its average activity indoors, derived from year-round measurements. The activity of radon in houses varies over time, typically showing seasonal variations with a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer months. It is influenced by meteorological conditions (such as external temperature, air velocity, and pressure differences between the indoor and outdoor environments) as well as the activities of the house's occupants (such as ventilation and heating rates).
To address these seasonal variations, several models have been devised to calculate radon concentrations using seasonal correction factors. This method allows for determining the average annual radon concentration in buildings based on short-term measurements.
This study systematically compares the derivation of seasonal correction factors through various methodological approaches and evaluates their applicability. The derived and validated correction factors were applied to a series of 3-month radon measurements conducted in residential areas across Slovakia, providing insights into their efficacy in practical applications.
This work was supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and Slovak Academy of Science (VEGA Project No. 1/0019/22 and No. 1/0086/22) and the Slovak Research and Development Agency (project No. APVV-21-0356).