title: Variability of radon and thoron equilibrium factors in indoor environment of Garhwal Himalaya.
abstract: The measurements of radon, thoron and their progeny concentrations have been carried out in the dwellings of Uttarkashi and Tehri districts of Garhwal Himalaya, India using LR-115 detector based pin-hole dosimeter and DRPS/DTPS techniques. The equilibrium factors for radon, thoron and their progeny were calculated by using the values measured with these techniques. The average values of equilibrium factor between radon and its progeny have been found to be 0.44, 0.39, 0.39 and 0.28 for rainy, autumn, winter and summer seasons, respectively. For thoron and its progeny, the average values of equilibrium factor have been found to be 0.04, 0.04, 0.04 and 0.03 for rainy, autumn, winter and summer seasons, respectively. The equilibrium factor between radon and its progeny has been found to be dependent on the seasonal changes. However, the equilibrium factor for thoron and progeny has been found to be same for rainy, autumn and winter seasons but slightly different for summer season. The annual average equilibrium factors for radon and thoron have been found to vary from 0.23 to 0.80 with an average of 0.42 and from 0.01 to 0.29 with an average of 0.07, respectively. The detailed discussion of the measurement techniques and the explanation for the results obtained is given in the paper.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal, 249 199, India. Electronic address: bijalwanmukesh111@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mukesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal, 249 199, India.
authors.forename: Mukesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rawat
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal, 249 199, India.
authors.forename: Anoop
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dangwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal, 249 199, India.
authors.forename: Tushar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kandari
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal, 249 199, India.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Gusain
authors.affiliation: Radiological Physics and Advisory Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085, India.
authors.forename: Rosaline
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal, 249 199, India.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ramola
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D007194:India; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011886:Radon
keywords: DRPS; DTPS; EERC; EETC; Radon; Thoron