title: Radon continuous monitoring in Altamira Cave (northern Spain) to assess user's annual effective dose.
abstract: In this work, we present the values of radon concentration, measured by continuous monitoring during a complete annual cycle in the Polychromes Hall of Altamira Cave in order to undertake more precise calculations of annual effective dose for guides and visitors in tourist caves. The (222)Rn levels monitored inside the cave ranges from 186 Bq m(-3) to 7120 Bq m(-3), with an annual average of 3562 Bq m(-3). In order to more accurately estimate effective dose we use three scenarios with different equilibrium factors (F=0.5, 0.7 and 1.0) together with different dose conversion factors proposed in the literature. Neither effective dose exceeds international recommendations. Moreover, with an automatic radon monitoring system the time remaining to reach the maximum annual dose recommended could be automatically updated.
authors.affiliation: Departamento Ingeniería Geológica y Minera, Facultad de Ciencias del Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain. javier.lario@uclm.es
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lario
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Moral
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cañaveras
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cuezva
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soler
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000592:standards; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011886:Radon