Residential Radon Exposure in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer in Lublin Region, Poland.

Exposure to radon is the second most common factor causing lung cancer in smokers and the first among non-smokers. We aimed to measure the impact of the radon exposure on patients with different histological types of advanced lung cancer. The measurement of radon exposure was performed in 102 patients with lung cancer in stage 3B or higher (Poland). There were 78.4% of patients with non-small cell carcinoma and 21.6% of patients with small cell carcinoma. One month radon exposure measurement was performed with trace detectors in order to control whether high radon concentrations (>800 Bq/m3) were found in the homes of patients with cancer diagnosed. Results of the determinations were then compared with the representation of the most common types of lung cancer in the study population. In the analyzed group, the average concentration of radon during the exposure of the detector in the residential premises of the respondents accounted for 69.0 Bq/m3 [37.0−117.0] and had no statistically significant effect on the type of lung cancer developed in patients. The lack of statistical significance may result from the small study group and the accompanying exposure to other harmful components. As the incidence of lung adenocarcinoma is increasing and exposure to tobacco smoke is decreasing, the search for other modifiable causes of lung cancer should be the task in the future.

Fast in situ gamma spectroscopy using hand-held spectrometer with NaI probe.

In this work a hand-held spectrometer InSpector 1000 with NaI (Tl) 2″ x 2″ detector has been adapted to fast in situ gamma-ray spectroscopy. Two specially designed mounting stands with shielding have been built, allowing conducting measurements in different geometries. Three particular geometries (NW, IS50, IS00) have been chosen for efficiency calibration and further study. The first one (NW) is intended for small environmental samples (volume ca 140 cm3) collected on site. IS50 geometry is a typical in situ geometry meant for radioactivity measurements in soil with detector pointed towards the ground. In this geometry the probe is shielded and mounted 50 cm above the soil surface. The new proposed geometry IS00 is designed in the way that the detector is inserted directly into the soil in order to increase the counting efficiency. The methods of efficiency calibration involved using calibration standards (in NW geometry) and the results obtained in previous in situ measurements with InSpector 2000 portable spectrometer with HPGe detector and ISOCS™ Shield Systems, which is routinely used in environmental measurements. NW geometry turned out to be useful for natural radioisotopes concentrations (K-40, U-238 and Th-232), which significantly exceed typical values of those concentrations observed in Poland. Both IS50 and IS00 geometries are applicative for quick (2 h long measurement) evaluation of typical concentrations of K, U and Th in soils. The newly proposed geometry IS00 is superior as it showed lower detection limits and uncertainties as well as its handling was far easier than of IS50. Authors have proven that hand-held spectrometer InSpector 1000, together with mounting stands and shielding, can be successfully used for fast in situ gamma-spectroscopy. Its relatively small weight and good mobility are additional assets. Moreover, detailed procedures for measurements in each geometry have been developed to conduct such analyses properly.

Application of ISOCS system in the laboratory efficiency calibration.

ISOCS (In Situ Counting Object System) from Canberra is applied in laboratory for creating efficiency calibrations of good quality without using radioactive standards. Besides of typical sample containers used in laboratory, ISOSC system also allows modelling containers and objects of almost any shape and elemental composition. The study was based on gamma spectrometry with HPGe semiconductor detector with electronics and software spectrum analysis GENIE 2000 + ISOCS. Measuring set is equipped with portable shield system with set of collimators ISOCS Shield Systems Model ISOXSHLD from Canberra. This shielding system provides attenuation of gamma background radiation with average value 33 (for gamma energies from 186 keV to 2615.5 keV). The portable shield system can be used for low-background laboratory measurements. For this purpose a measuring vessel of new geometry was constructed: the polystyrene cylinder with a height of 40 mm and a diameter of 70 mm. The efficiency calibration for this container was performed using both ISOCS system and classical calibration standard in the same geometry. In order to verify the correctness of performed calibration procedures, the measurements of radioactive standard CBSS 2 were made. The results of both calibrations were compared with the data from the standard certificate. Satisfactory agreement was achieved. Mean percentage difference between results from ISOCS calibration compared to reference values is 6% for all isotopes activities in CBSS 2 standard. The set of collimators was used to develop efficiency calibration for in situ measurements of the soil surface. Test measurements were carried out at the area of the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków, Poland (IFJ PAN). Two measurement methods were compared: in situ and laboratory gamma spectroscopy. The obtained average results (from all 10 measuring points) are consistent within the range of measurement uncertainty.

Preliminary Results of Radon Survey in the Kindergartens of V4 Countries.

The measurements of radon concentration were carried out in kindergartens of V4 countries (Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). RSKS detectors (Radosys Ltd., Hungary) were used for integrating measurement in indoor air. In total, 67 rooms in 20 kindergartens were measured. The survey was carried out in two periods from October 2015 to March 2016. The results show that radon concentration is less than 300 Bq m-3 in approximately 86.0% of cases in the first period and in 82.1% of cases in second period. However, rooms in kindergartens with radon concentration exceeding 1000 Bq m-3 were found in Slovakia.

Indoor radon survey in Visegrad countries.

The indoor radon measurements were carried out in 123 residential buildings and 33 schools in Visegrad countries (Slovakia, Hungary and Poland). In 13.2% of rooms radon concentration exceeded 300Bqm(-3), the reference value recommended in the Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM. Indoor radon in houses shows the typical radon behavior, with a minimum in the summer and a maximum in the winter season, whereas in 32% of schools the maximum indoor radon was reached in the summer months.

Air conditioning impact on the dynamics of radon and its daughters concentration.

Radon and its decay products are harmful pollutants present in indoor air and are responsible for the majority of the effective dose due to ionising radiation that people are naturally exposed to. The paper presents the results of the series of measurements of radon and its progeny (in unattached and attached fractions) as well as indoor air parameters: temperature, relative humidity, number and mass concentrations of fine aerosol particles. The measurements were carried out in the auditorium (lecture hall), which is an indoor air quality laboratory, in controlled conditions during two periods of time: when air conditioning (AC) was switched off (unoccupied auditorium) and when it was switched on (auditorium in normal use). The significant influence of AC and of students' presence on the dynamics of radon and its progeny was confirmed. A decrease in the mean value of radon and its attached progeny was found when AC was working. The mean value of radon equilibrium factor F was also lower when AC was working (0.49) than when it was off (0.61). The linear correlations were found between attached radon progeny concentration and particle number and mass concentration only when the AC was switched off. This research is being conducted with the aim to study the variability of radon equilibrium factor F which is essential to determine the effective dose due to radon and its progeny inhalation.

The potential health hazard due to elevated radioactivity in old uranium mines in Dolina Bialego, Tatra Mountains, Poland.

Natural radioactivity is one of the essential components of the environment. Unlike the Sudety mountains area in Poland, the Tatra Mountains were not the subject of wide survey as regards the levels of natural radioactivity. Especially, the concentrations of radon (natural radioactive gas) have not been investigated there in terms of their possible negative health impact. Within the frame of bilateral cooperation between the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kraków, Poland, and the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the measurements of natural radioactive elements in old uranium mines in the Tatra National Park were performed in June 2010. The investigated sites were located in Dolina Bialego (The Valley of the White). One of the mines is situated near the tourist path. The paper presents the results of complex measurements of natural radioactivity in both uranium drifts. The concentration of radon gas inside the mining drifts exceeded 28,000 Bq m(-3). Also, very high gamma dose rates were observed (up to 5600 nSv h(-1)). The maximum concentrations of natural radioactive elements (potassium (40)K, radium (226)Ra, thorium (232)Th) in rock samples amounted to 535, 2137, and 18 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The effective dose rates due to radon and thoron inhalation have been assessed as 0.013 mSv h(-1) (for the lowest concentration) and 0.121 mSv h(-1) (for the highest concentration).

Mean annual (222)Rn concentration in homes located in different geological regions of Poland: first approach to whole country area.

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.