ORIGINAL PAPER
Occurrence of radon in the Polish underground tourist routes
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1
Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera / Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland
(Zakład Ochrony Radiologicznej / Department of Radiological Protection)
2
Uniwersytet Łódzki / University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland
(Wydział Fizyki i Informatyki Stosowanej, Katedra Fizyki Jądrowej i Bezpieczeństwa Radiacyjnego / Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics, Department of Nuclear Physics and Radiation Safety)
Corresponding author
Jerzy Olszewski
Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera,
Zakład Ochrony Radiologicznej, ul. św. Teresy 8, 91-348 Łódź
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2015;66(4):557-63
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ABSTRACT
Background: There are about 200 underground tourist routes in Poland. There are caves, mines or underground structures.
This paper presents the results of the research intended to identify the extent of the occurrence of radon concentrations in underground
areas of tourist routes. Material and Methods: We conducted the measurement of periodic concentrations of radon (1–2 months) in the
summer using type Tastrak trace detectors. We determined the average concentrations of radon in air in 66 underground tourist routes in
Poland. Results: The research results comprise 259 determinations of average radon concentrations in 66 routes. The arithmetic average of
the results was 1610 Bqm–3, and the maximum measured concentration was over 20 000 Bqm–3. The minimum concentration was 100 Bqm–3
(threshold method) considering the arithmetic average of the measurements. It was found that in 67% of the routes, the average concentration
of radon has exceeded 300 Bqm–3 and in 22 underground routes it exceeded 1000 Bqm–3. Conclusions: Radon which occurs in many
Polish underground tourist routes may be an organizational, legal and health problem. It is necessary to develop a program of measures to
reduce radon concentrations in underground routes, especially routes located in the former mines. Med Pr 2015;66(4):557–563