Prediction of indoor radon in Germany on a regional scale
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J. Kemski
Abstract
Measurements of indoor radon activity concentration have been carried out in more than 10 000 dwellings in different regions of Germany. The statistical correlations between geology, building ground, indoor radon and the house characteristics were investigated. The geographical location – and therefore the geological setting – can be used as a proxy for both region-specific geological properties and building characteristics. Together with different variables of house type and living habits it significantly contribute to the explained variance for both ground floor and basement radon activity concentrations. Soil gas and indoor radon activity concentrations are connected by a transfer factor. The study has shown, that this factor can vary depending on regional differences in building characteristics, especially between the western and eastern part of Germany. Radon risk prediction maps for radon in houses based on the German soil gas map and the regional distribution of radon transfer, indicating the probability of exceeding indoor threshold values, can be designed. They can be used as a tool for indoor radon prediction, especially in regions without a sufficient number of indoor radon data.
Kurzfassung
Messungen der Radonaktivitätskonzentration in mehr als 10 000 Häusern in verschiedenen Gebieten in Deutschland wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Abhängigkeit von Geologie, Baugrund, Bauweise und Hausnutzung statistisch ausgewertet. Dabei zeigte sich, dass die geographische Lage des Hauses und damit auch seine räumliche Zuordnung zu einer geologischen Einheit als Stellvertreter für regionale geologisch-petrographische und bautypische Eigenheiten herangezogen werden kann. In Varianzanalysen für Keller und Erdgeschoss konnten in beiden Fällen neben Geologie und Bauweise aber auch Nutzungsgewohnheiten der Hausbewohner als Einflussfaktor herausgefiltert werden. Radonaktivitätskonzentrationen in der Bodenluft und in der Raumluft sind über einen sogenannten Transferfaktor rechnerisch miteinander verknüpft. Die vorliegenden Untersuchungen ergaben regionale Unterschiede des Transferfaktors, die in starkem Maße auf den Zustand der Bausubstanz zurückzuführen sind. Dies spiegelt sich deutlich in der räumlichen Verteilung der Transferfaktoren in den westlichen und östlichen Bundesländern in Deutschland wider. Über die Verschneidung von Radonaktivitätskonzentrationen in der Bodenluft und Transferfaktoren können Karten generiert werden, in denen eine prozentuale Überschreitungshäufigkeit beliebig wählbarer Raumluftkonzentrationen dargestellt ist. Diese Karten können der Prognose von Radonraumluftkonzentrationen dienen und besonders in Regionen hilfreich sein, aus denen keine oder wenige Raumluftmesswerte vorliegen.
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© 2008, Carl Hanser Verlag, München
Articles in the same Issue
- Contents/Inhalt
- Contents
- Summaries/Kurzfassungen
- Summaries
- Technical Contributions/Fachbeiträge
- Radiation protection aspects in natural radioactivity
- Notifiable work activities in water supply facilities – execution experience from Bavaria
- Phenomenological model of TENORM formation in industrial processes
- Consideration of statistical uncertainties for the determination of representative values of the specific activity of wastes
- Radiological evaluation of mine water discharges from hard coal mining in the Fossa Eugeniana Area, Germany
- Development of an object-specific remediation solution for the waste rock dumps at the formerly abandoned Wismut sites
- Meteorological influences on the results of area dose rate measurements
- Optimization of the selection of analysis methods for the determination of naturally occurring radionuclides
- On the determination of the ingestion dose in drinking and mineral water
- Radon in Austria: metrology and practice
- Prediction of indoor radon in Germany on a regional scale
- Workplaces with natural radionuclides – investigation results from Bavaria
Articles in the same Issue
- Contents/Inhalt
- Contents
- Summaries/Kurzfassungen
- Summaries
- Technical Contributions/Fachbeiträge
- Radiation protection aspects in natural radioactivity
- Notifiable work activities in water supply facilities – execution experience from Bavaria
- Phenomenological model of TENORM formation in industrial processes
- Consideration of statistical uncertainties for the determination of representative values of the specific activity of wastes
- Radiological evaluation of mine water discharges from hard coal mining in the Fossa Eugeniana Area, Germany
- Development of an object-specific remediation solution for the waste rock dumps at the formerly abandoned Wismut sites
- Meteorological influences on the results of area dose rate measurements
- Optimization of the selection of analysis methods for the determination of naturally occurring radionuclides
- On the determination of the ingestion dose in drinking and mineral water
- Radon in Austria: metrology and practice
- Prediction of indoor radon in Germany on a regional scale
- Workplaces with natural radionuclides – investigation results from Bavaria
