Measurement of Releasing Radon gas at Archaeological Site in Egypt and its Associated Radiation Dose
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21608/jntas.2022.131348.1051Keywords:
Radon, Radiation Dose, Can-technique, Soil, Archaeological SiteAbstract
Radon concentration at Tanis, Sharqai, Egypt, was measured at the site as well as at the laboratory using a sealed Can-technique equipped CR-39 detector which was calibrated in advance. In situ measured radon concentration ranged from 72 ± 9 Bq m-3 to 144 ± 16 Bq m-3, while the equilibrium radon concentration of 20 soil samples collected from the same sites were ranged from 88 ± 12 Bq m-3 to 226 ± 36 Bq m-3 at the laboratory. The average radon concentration is less than the recommended value by ICRP of 300 Bq m-3 but it is higher than the recommended value by WHO of 100 Bq m-3. The radon exhalation rate was ranged from (24 ± 3 to 61 ± 10 10-4) Bq m-2 s-1. It shows a good correlation with the radium content of a linear correlation factor of R = 0.97, which implies, the radium content is a useful index for radon parameters. Moreover, the radiation dose was calculated using radon concentration at sites and its value was ranged from 0.40 ± 0.05 to 0.79 ± 0.09 mSv y-1 for workers and from 0.054 ± 0.007 to 0.108 ± 0.012 mSv y-1 for visitors. From the obtained results, we assure there is no radiation health hazard from visiting the studied archaeological site.
References
Abdalla, A. M., & Al-Naggar, T. I. (2019). Estimation of radiologic hazards of radon resulting from ceramic tiles used in Najran City. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 12, 210–218.
Abdullah, A. M. (2013). Concentration measurements of radon, uranium and background gamma rays in air at the University of Baghdad, Al-Jadiriyah site. Journal of Baghdad for Science.
Abo-Elmagd, M. (1997). Calibration and concentration measurement of radon gas in a radon gas chamber (Master’s thesis). Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Abo-Elmagd, M., Metwally, S. M., Elmongy, S. A., Salama, E., & El-Fiki, S. A. (2006). External and internal exposure to natural radiations inside ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara. Radiation Measurements, 41, 197–200.
Abo-Elmagd, M., Saleh, A., & Afifi, G. (2018). Evaluation of radon-related parameters in environmental samples from Jazan City, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 11, 104–110.
Adem, K. (2018). Measurement of the radon exhalation rate and effective radium concentration in soil samples of southern Sakarya, Turkey. Indoor and Built Environment, 27, 278–288.
Aswood, M. S. (2017). Estimation of radon concentration in soil samples from Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal, 5, 9–12.
Catalano, R., Imme, G., Mangano, G., Morelli, D., Aranzulla, M., Giammanco, S., & Thinova, L. (2015). In situ and laboratory measurements for radon transport process study. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 306, 673–684.
Chege, M. W., Rathore, V. S., Chhabra, S. C., & Mustapha, A. O. (2009). The influence of meteorological parameters on indoor radon in selected traditional Kenyan dwellings. Journal of Radiological Protection, 29, 95–103.
Durrani, S. A., & Bull, R. K. (1987). Solid state nuclear track detection: Principles, methods and applications. Pergamon Press.
Eappen, K. P., Sahoo, B. K., Ramachandran, T. V., & Mayya, Y. S. (2008). Calibration factor for thoron estimation in cup dosimeter. Radiation Measurements, 43, S418–S421.
El-Arabi, A. M., El-Saman, M. I., Maiyza, I. A., Tartor, B. A., & Bashter, I. I. (2004, November 27–30). Radon concentration and its relation with some environmental conditions in the Northern Safaga Bay. VII Radiation Physics & Protection Conference, Ismailia, Egypt.
El-Zaher, M. (2011). Seasonal variation of indoor radon concentration in dwellings of Alexandria City, Egypt. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 143(1), 56–62.
El-Zaher, M. (2013). A comparative study of the indoor radon level with the radon exhalation rate from soil in Alexandria City. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 154, 490–496.
Fares, S. (2017). Measurements of natural radioactivity levels in black sand and sediment samples of the Temsah Lake beach in the Suez Canal region in Egypt. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 10.
Farid, S. M. (2016). Indoor radon in dwellings of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia and its correlations with the radium and radon exhalation rates from soil. Indoor and Built Environment, 25, 269–278.
Gulan, L. (2017). Is high indoor radon concentration correlated with specific activity of radium in nearby soil? A study in Kosovo and Metohija. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 24, 19561.
Hafez, A. F., Hussein, A. S., & Rasheed, N. M. (2001). A study of radon and thoron release from Egyptian building materials using polymeric nuclear track detectors. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 54, 291.
Hassan, N. M., & Kim, Y. J. (2020). A feasibility test for quick radon risk assessment by measuring an in-situ radiation dose. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 192(4), 482.
Hassan, N. M., & Hafez, A. F. (2013). Studying the physical parameters of a solid-state nuclear track detector. Journal of the Korean Physical Society, 63, 1713.
Hassan, N. M. (2014). Radon emanation coefficient and its exhalation rate of wasted petroleum samples associated with the petroleum industry in Egypt. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 299, 111.
Hassan, N. M., Hosoda, M., Ishikawa, T., Sorimachi, A., Sahoo, S. K., Tokonami, S., & Fukushi, M. (2009a). ^222Rn exhalation rate from Egyptian building materials using active and passive methods. Japanese Journal of Health Physics, 44, 106.
Hassan, N. M., Hosoda, M., Ishikawa, T., Sorimachi, A., Sahoo, S. K., Tokonami, S., & Fukushi, M. (2009b). Radon migration process and its influence factors: Review. Japanese Journal of Health Physics, 44, 218.
Hassan, N. M., Ishikawa, T., Hosoda, M., Iwaoka, K., Sorimachi, A., Sahoo, S. K., Janik, M., Kranrod, C., Yonehara, H., Fukushi, M., & Tokonami, S. (2011). The effect of water content on the radon emanation coefficient for some building materials used in Japan. Radiation Measurements, 46, 232.
Hassan, N. M., Mansour, N. A., & Fayez-Hassan, M. (2013). Evaluation of radionuclide concentrations and associated radiological hazard indexes in building materials used in Egypt. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 157, 214.
Hassan, N. M., Mansour, N. A., Fayez-Hassan, M., & Sedqy, E. (2016). Assessment of natural radioactivity in fertilizers and phosphate ores in Egypt. Journal of Taibah University for Science, 10, 296.
Hassan, N. M., Mansour, N. A., Salama, S., & Al-Deeb, A. (2019). Estimation of radiation hazards of natural radionuclides in the archaeological site of Tanis, Egypt. Arab Journal of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, 52, 62.
Hosoda, M., Sorimachi, A., Yasuoka, Y., Ishikawa, T., Sahoo, S. K., Furukawa, M., Hassan, N. M., Tokonami, S., & Uchida, S. (2009). Simultaneous measurement of radon and thoron exhalation rates and comparison with values calculated by UNSCEAR equation. Journal of Radiation Research, 50, 333.
International Commission on Radiological Protection. (2010). Lung cancer risk from radon and progeny and statement on radon (ICRP Publication 115). Annals of the ICRP, 40(1), 1.
International Commission on Radiological Protection. (1993). Protection against radon-222 at home and at work (ICRP Publication 65). Pergamon Press.
International Commission on Radiological Protection. (2017). Occupational intakes of radionuclides: Part 3 (ICRP Publication 137). Annals of the ICRP, 46(3/4).
Kaliprasad, C. S., & Yerol, N. (2018). Radon concentration in water, soil and sediment of Hemavathi River environments. Indoor and Built Environment, 27(5), 587.
Mansour, N. A., Ahmed, T. S., Hassan, M. F., Hassan, N. M., Gomaa, M. A., & Ali, A. (2012). Measurements of radiation levels around the location of NORM in solid wastes at petroleum companies in Egypt. Journal of American Science, 8(6), 252.
Matiullah, M., Malik, F., & Rafique, M. (2012). Indoor radon monitoring near an in-situ leach mining site in D. G. Khan, Pakistan. Journal of Radiological Protection, 32(4), 427.
Mehta, V. (2015). Study of indoor radon, thoron, their progeny concentration and radon exhalation rate in the environs of Mohali, Punjab, Northern India. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 15, 1380.
Muntean, L. E., Cosma, C., Cucos, A., Dicu, T., & Moldovan, D. V. (2014). Assessment of annual and seasonal variation of indoor radon levels in dwelling houses from Alba County, Romania. Romanian Journal of Physics, 59, 163.
Nazaroff, W. W. (1992). Radon transport from soil to air. Reviews of Geophysics, 30, 137.
Özen, S. A., Çevik, U., & Taşkın, H. (2018). Comparison of active and passive radon survey in cave atmosphere, and estimation of the radon-exposed dose equivalents and gamma absorbed dose rates. Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, 55, 92.
Papachristodoulou, C. A., Ioannides, K. G., Stamoulis, K. C., Patiris, D. L., & Pavlides, S. B. (2004). Radon activity levels and effective doses in the Perama Cave, Greece. Health Physics, 86, 619.
Rafique, M., Rahman, S. U., & Akram, M. (2012). Estimation of concentration and exposure doses due to radon using CR-39 plastic track detectors in the residences of Sudhnuti, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Environmental Earth Sciences, 66(4), 1225.
Saeed, U. R., Rafique, M., Matiullah, M., & Anwar, J. (2010). Radon measurement studies in workplace buildings of the Rawalpindi region and Islamabad Capital area, Pakistan. Building and Environment, 45, 421.
Sahu, P., Panigrahi, D. C., & Mishra, D. P. (2016). A comprehensive review on sources of radon and factors affecting radon concentration in underground uranium mines. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75, 617.
Salama, E., Ehab, M., & Rühm, W. (2018). Radon and thoron concentrations inside ancient Egyptian tombs at Saqqara region: Time-resolved and seasonal variation measurements. Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 50(6), 950.
Sasaki, T., Gunji, Y., & Okuda, T. (2004). Mathematical modeling of radon emanation. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 41, 142.
Schery, S. D., Wilkening, M. H., Hart, K. P., & Hill, S. D. (1989). The flux of radon and thoron from Australian soils. Journal of Geophysical Research, 94, 8567.
Somlai, J., Somlai, K., Jobbágy, V., Kovács, J., Németh, C., & Kovács, T. (2008). Connection between radon emanation and some structural properties of coal slag as a building material. Radiation Measurements, 43, 72.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. (1993). Sources and effects of ionizing radiation: Report to the General Assembly, with scientific annexes. United Nations.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. (2000). Sources and effects of ionizing radiation: Report to the General Assembly, with scientific annexes. United Nations.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. (2008). Sources and effects of ionizing radiation: Report to the General Assembly, with scientific annexes. United Nations.
World Health Organization. (2005). Fact sheet No. 291: Radon and cancer.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
