title: Mean annual (222)Rn concentration in homes located in different geological regions of Poland: first approach to whole country area.
abstract: The paper presents the results of year-long measurements of radon ((222)Rn) concentration inside 129 buildings in Poland in relation to the geological conditions of their foundation. The authors took into account the division of the country into tectonic units, as well as the lithology of the rocks forming the bedrock of these buildings. As expected, the highest value of mean annual (222)Rn concentration (845 Bq/m(3)) was recorded in a building situated in the area of the Sudetes, while the highest geometric mean (characteristic of the expected log-normal data distribution) was calculated based on measurements from buildings located within the East-European craton, in the area of Mazury-Podlasie monocline, where it reached 231 Bq/m(3). Such results reflect geological conditions - the occurrence of crystalline rocks (especially U- and Ra-enriched granites and orthogneisses) on the surface in the Sudetes, and of young post-glacial sediments containing fragments of Scandinavian crystalline rocks, also enriched with U and Ra, in the area of Mazury-Podlasie monocline. However, the least expected result of the investigations was finding out that, contrary to the hitherto widespread belief, none of the major tectonic units of Poland can be excluded from the list of those containing buildings with mean annual (222)Rn concentration exceeding 200 Bq/m(3). The mean annual concentration of radon for all the buildings were much higher than the mean concentration value (49.1 Bq/m(3)) of indoor radon in Poland quoted so far. These results cast a completely new light on the necessity to perform measurements of radon concentration in residential buildings in Poland, no more with reference to small areas with outcrops of crystalline rocks (especially the Sudetes, being the Polish fragment of the European Variscan belt), but for all the major tectonic units within Poland.
authors.affiliation: Wrocław University of Technology, Mining and Geology, Institute of Mining, Division of Geology and Mineral Waters, Wybrzeże S. Wyspiańskiego, Poland. Tadeusz.Przylibski@pwr.wroc.pl
authors.forename: Tadeusz A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Przylibski
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zebrowski
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karpińska
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kapała
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kozak
authors.forename: Jadwiga
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mazur
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grządziel
authors.forename: Kalina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mamont-Cieśla
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Stawarz
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kozłowska
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kłos
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dorda
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wysocka
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olszewski
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dohojda
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D005843:Geography; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D006798:Housing; D011044:Poland; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011886:Radon