The average radiation dose received by humans each year as natural background radiation is 2.4 mSv and long-term exposure to such harmful radiation can be severely hazardous. According to the BEIR-VI report, radon (222Rn) alone accounts for higher than 50% of all ambient radiation from natural sources. Thus, its quantification is essential to evaluate any risk imposed by radiation dose to human health. Newly created LR-115 films embedded in the pinhole detectors have been used for passive time-integrated assessment of the radon (222Rn), thoron (220Rn), and their progeny levels in permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary house types. The annual average radon levels in these three house types were 31.7 Bqm-3, 37.2 Bqm-3, and 55.2 Bqm-3, respectively. The annual average value of radon of permanent and semi-permanent houses was found to lie below, while that of temporary houses exceeded the worldwide average of 40 Bqm-3. Meanwhile, permanent houses have annual mean thoron concentrations of 31.3 Bqm-3, semi-permanent houses have 40.9 Bqm-3, and temporary, houses have 41.58 Bqm-3. All three house types outperformed the annual global average of thoron.
Keywords
Radon, Thoron, SSNTDs, Progeny Levels, Types of Dwellings, Radiation Dose.
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