RADON EXHALATION RATE IN BUILDING-MATERIALS

Radon is present in trace amounts almost everywhere on the earth, being distributed in the soil, the ground water and in the lower atmosphere. Radon can originate from a deeply burried deposit and can migrate to the surface of earth by diffusion and transport process. The increased interest in indoor radon concentration is due to its health hazard and environmental pollution. For the measurements of radon activity and exhalation rate from commonly used building materials alpha sensitive CR-39 plastic track detectors were exposed. Effect of paints and wall papers was also studied. The average dose equivalent rate due to radon daughters for a person living in different rooms was found to vary from 2.02 to 11.04 mSvY-1.