Radon Dose Determination and Radiological Risk in Some Mexican Caves with CR-39 Detectors

Authors

  • A. Chavarria Sciences Faculty, National Autonomous University of Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0159-3712
  • J. I. Golzarri Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México 04520 México; Condensed Matter Department, Physics Institute, National Autonomous University of Mexico
  • G. Espinosa Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México 04520 México; Condensed Matter Department, Physics Institute, National Autonomous University of Mexico

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15415/jnp.2021.82022

Keywords:

Caves, Radon, Doses, CR-39, Radiological risk

Abstract

Radon (222Rn) is a radioactive gas, from the 238U decay chain, that contributes in large part of the natural radiation dose to which humans are exposed. Radon is the second cause of lung cancer after tobacco. The US-EPA considers a concentration of 148 Bq/m3 for homes and 400 Bq/m3 for workplaces as the reference level. Caves are closed spaces where 222Rn, which emanates from the surrounding minerals and rocks, can accumulate and reaches large concentrations that can represent a health risk for the guides, speleologists and visitors who spend time in these spaces. This work uses the previously recorded radon concentrations in 8 caves in Mexico and calculates the average dose range and the average annual dose for each of them with the “Wise” public domain program (http://www.wise-uranium.org/rdcrn.html) to determine the level of radiological risk with 2,000 1,000 and 500 working hours per year. Karmidas cave had the highest average 222Rn concentration with 27,633.3 Bq/m3 and for 2,000 working hours per year an average annual dose rate of 347.1 mSv/y. Los Riscos cave had the lowest average concentration with 384.7 Bq/m3 and for 2,000 working hours per year an average annual dose rate of 4.832 mSv/y. These results show that all the caves studied present values,
with 2,000 working hours per year, that exceed 3 mSv/y for workplaces and must be considered by the people who work in these places. A casual tourist visiting the caves does not present any radiological risk, while guides and speleologists should consider it.

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References

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Published

2021-02-10

How to Cite

(1)
Chavarria, A.; Golzarri, J. I. .; Espinosa, G. Radon Dose Determination and Radiological Risk in Some Mexican Caves With CR-39 Detectors. J. Nucl. Phy. Mat. Sci. Rad. A. 2021, 8, 169-175.

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Articles

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Articles in Journal of Nuclear Physics, Material Sciences, Radiation and Applications (J. Nucl. Phy. Mat. Sci. Rad. A.) by Chitkara University Publications are Open Access articles that are published with licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- CC-BY 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://jnp.chitkara.edu.in. This license permits one to use, remix, tweak and reproduction in any medium, even commercially provided one give credit for the original creation.

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