Kucukomeroglu, B.; Ozturk, E.; Damla, N.; Celik, N.; Duran, S. Uzun; Cevik, U.; Taskin, H.; Albayrak, N.

Indoor radon and soil radioactivity levels were determined for Erzincan province in Turkey. Indoor radon concentrations were determined in 89 dwellings using CR-39 passive Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) for four seasons. The mean annual 222Rn activity concentration was found to be 119 Bq.m-'3. In the winter season, indoor radon concentrations showed the highest values while the lowest values were observed in the summer season. A model was used to predict the number of lung cancer incidences due to inhalation of radon. The findings have indicated that radon is responsible for 13% of lung cancer incidences occurring in the Erzincan province. Since indoor radon concentration correlates with 226Ra content in soil beneath the dwellings, soil samples were collected near the houses where indoor radon measurements were performed in order to seek a correlation. The 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs activity concentration values were 52, 26, 649 and 9 Bq.kg-'1, respectively. The annual effective dose due to naturally occurring radionuclides was around 82 μSv.y-'1 which is higher than the world average value of 70 μSv.y-'1. The results of the present study are expected to be a useful baseline data for future studies.

Çevik, Ugur; Çelik, Ahmet; Çelik, Necati; Özkalayci, Fatih; Akbulut, Songul

In this study, a survey on environmental radioactivity in 16 high schools located in north eastern region of Turkey (the black sea region, province of Trabzon) was carried out. Indoor air radon (Rn-222) concentrations were measured in spring and autumn 2008 seasons using LR115 solid state nuclear track detectors and gamma radioactivity levels were measured using an HPGe gamma ray detector. It was seen that mean radon activity concentrations in schools ranged from 31 to 157 Bq/m(3) for spring season and from 38 to 114 Bq/m(3) for autumn season. The mean gamma activity concentrations in located areas of schools are between 18-52, 21-59, 11-97 and 265-759 Bq/kg for Ra-226, Th-232, Cs-137 and K-40, respectively. The annual effective doses of students and staff received due to radon and locations' gamma radioactivity levels are calculated.