Radon Measurement Protocol for Residences with Different Ventilation Rates

Abstract

A radon measurement protocol is proposed for residential premises in which the radon production rate of a room is quantified as the product of the emanation rate from materials and their exposed area. The protocol is based on short-term continuous monitoring in which the sampled room is maintained in a well-sealed state for at least three days. To examine the practicality and accuracy of the protocol, a living room in a high-rise residential apartment was selected. No mechanical ventilation was used in the measurements from which a real-time indoor radon growth curve was obtained. The radon production rate of the sampled room was found to be 414.6 Bq h^-1. A tracer gas test, to measure the leakage rate of the room, was conducted simultaneously at the startup of the measurement to check the accuracy of the protocol. The air exchange rate due to infiltration (leakage) obtained from the radon profile and tracer gas test were 0.041 and 0.046 h^-1, respectively, a deviation of 12.2% from the result of tracer gas test. The test showed that the protocol could be accepted to quantify the radon production rate of a room. The relationships between the radon production rate, indoor radon level and ventilation rate of a room are also discussed in this paper.