Radon Exposure in Underground Non-Uranium Mines
Gyopár Bányász, Zsolt Déri, Andor Kerekes, and György J. Köteles
József Fodor National Center of Public Health, Frédéric Joliot-Curie National Research Institute for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene, Budapest, Hungary
Corresponding author: György J. Köteles
Frédéric Joliot-Curie National Research Institute for Radiobiology
and Radiohygiene József Fodor National Center for Public Health
P.O. Box 101
Telephone: (36 1) 482 2000/135
Fax number: (36 1) 482 2000/135
E-mail: koteles@hp.osski.hu
CEJOEM 2005, Vol.11. No.3.: 207–215
Key words:
Radon and gamma exposures, underground non-uranium mines, radiation dose estimation of workers
Abstract:
According to the international recommendations and the Hungarian national legislation on the monitoring
of workplaces possibly exposed to elevated levels of natural radiation, radon and radon daughter activity
concentrations as well as gamma-dose rate, were measured in underground coal, bauxite, and in open-pit
lignite mines. The radon and radon-daughter activity concentrations were determined by various “active”
and “passive” techniques. Comparing the methods applied, suggestions are given concerning their applicability
under various environmental conditions. The radon activity concentration values ranged between 12 and 589
Bq·m–3 and the gamma dose rate values between 23 and 308 nSv·h–1. Based on the results
obtained, the annual effective doses of miners were estimated taking into consideration both the external and
internal exposure values as well as the findings that the measured equilibrium factors for radon and radon
daughters were different under various conditions. The total annual effective doses were estimated between
0.3 and 2.5 mSv·yr–3. In conclusion, the miners’ exposure working in the mines studied are well
under the occupational dose limit.
Received: 21 September 2005
Accepted: 20 October 2005
| Back |