Speaker
Description
The main internal source of radon (not only in living spaces) is the geological subsoil; it can also be building material or water. These sources are already relatively well captured and legislative mechanisms have been established to monitor and evaluate their health impact over the long term, and eliminate them in case of exceeding the guideline values. However, it is a question of what part of the representative person exposure inside the buildings can be caused by external sources. In our case study the source represent the material of the waste rock dump after uranium ore mining. The impact assessment was developed for the village of Brod, which is about 200 m away from the waste dump shaft № 15 bottom.
The effort to answer this question led the authors to perform an analysis of the previously known results of available measurements of radon concentrations in this area. At the same time, a number of long-term data such as wind direction, external temperature, etc., i.e. parameters that have a fundamental influence on the behavior of radon gas, were analyzed. At the same time as these analyses, series of measurements were carried out to provide a comprehensive picture of the situation and to describe how radon spreads from the dump to the village, where it passes and how the concentration level changes during its spread. Simultaneous measurements of radon concentrations and meteorological parameters outside and inside selected buildings in the village of Brod enabled to make a first estimation of the influence of an external source of radon on the exposure inside selected buildings from external radon. The facts found may have an impact on local village planning.
The measurements were carried out in cooperation with DIAMO, s.e., SURO, v.v.i., SUJCHBO v.v.i. and FNSPE CTU. The finalization of the summary analysis was supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.