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Radiation Protection Dosimetry Advance Access published online on October 14, 2009
Radiation Protection Dosimetry, doi:10.1093/rpd/ncp203
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

INDOOR RADON CONCENTRATION MEASUREMENT IN THE DWELLINGS OF DISTRICT POONCH (AZAD KASHMIR), PAKISTAN

Muhammad Rafique1,*, Said Rahman2, S. U. Rahman3, Shahida Jabeen1, M. Ikram Shahzad4, Mumtaz H. Rathore5 and Matiullah4

1 Department of Physics, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, 13100 Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
2 SPAS Division SPARCENT, SUPARCO HQs, Karachi, Pakistan
3 Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
4 Physics Division, PINSTECH, PO Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan
5 AKMIDC, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

* Corresponding author: rafi_722002{at}yahoo.com, mrafique{at}gmail.com

Received May 5, 2009, amended September 7, 2009, accepted September 8, 2009

The present study deals with measurement of indoor radon concentrations in dwellings of the district Poonch of the state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. In this context, CR-39-based box-type radon detectors were installed in drawing rooms and bedrooms of 80 selected houses and were exposed to indoor radon for 3 months. After exposure, the CR-39 detectors were etched for 9 h in 6 mol NaOH at 70°C and the observed track densities were related to radon concentrations. Measured indoor radon concentrations in the studied area ranged from 27 ± 6 to 169 ± 4, 29 ± 6 to 196 ± 4 and 31 ± 5 to 142 ± 2 Bq m–3 in the drawing rooms and 74 ± 5 to 172 ± 3, 32 ± 6 to 191 ± 4 and 27 ± 5 to 155 ± 2 Bq m–3 in bedrooms of the Abbaspur, Hajira and Rawalakot regions of the district Poonch, respectively; whereas weighted average radon concentration ranged from 93 ± 6 to 159 ± 4, 33 ± 5 to 118 ± 3 and 31 ± 6 to 155 ± 5 Bq m–3 in the dwellings of Abbaspur, Hajira and Rawalakot, respectively. Estimated doses due to the indoor radon ranged from 2.35 ± 0.15 to 4.00 ± 0.10, 0.83 ± 0.08 to 2.98 ± 0.08 and 0.78 ± 0.15 to 3.91 ± 0.13 mSv y–1 for Abbaspur, Rawalakot and Hajira, respectively. Comparing the current indoor radon results with those of the Health Protection Agency UK and US EPA (i.e. 200 and 148 Bq m–3) limits, majority of the houses surveyed in the present study are within the safe limits.


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