INDOOR
AND OUTDOOR RADON-222 CONCENTRATION AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA[1]
Ahmad Saat1,
Zaini Hamzah2
1INTEC
Education College
Universiti
Teknologi MARA
Kampus Seksyen 17
40200 SHAH ALAM.
2Faculty
of Applied Sciences
Universiti
Teknologi MARA
40450 SHAH ALAM.
e-mail:
ahmad183@salam.uitm.edu.my
ABSTRACT
Radon
is the only radionuclide that naturally in gaseous form at room temperature.
Being a gas it has greater mobility, and able to pass through small openings
and blended together with atmospheric air. The main sources of radon are
uranium and thorium that decay through chains that contained radon. Radon
decays by alpha particle emission into a number of progenies before reaching
stability. These progenies also decay by high energy alpha particles emissions.
Radon when inhaled is considered as carcinogenic, and has been blamed as the
second most important causes of lung cancer, after smoking. In Malaysia study
and information on radon are considered as something “new” to the public. The present
study determines the indoor and outdoor radon-222 concentration at various
representative locations in Peninsular Malaysia, by using continuous radon
monitor as well as CR-39 solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD). The
locations include major cities, towns, tin mining areas, National Park,
residential complex, university campus and new township. Results of the study
showed that the indoor concentrations at the majority of locations are below
the USEPA Action Limit of 148 Becquerel per cubic meter. However in some
locations like former tin mining areas the limit is surpassed. The outdoor
radon-222 concentration depends very much on the geological formations of the
area. Some studied locations were found to have outdoor concentration of higher
than the world’s outdoor average of 14.8 Becquerel per cubic meter. Mitigation
steps are recommended for houses having concentration higher than the Action
Limit.
Keywords:
radon measurements, SSNTD, radon mitigation
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