Radiological characterisation of Artvin and Ardahan provinces of Turkey


KÜÇÜKÖMEROĞLU B., YEŞİLBAĞ Y. Ö., Kurnaz A., Celik N., ÇEVİK U., Çelebi N.

RADIATION PROTECTION DOSIMETRY, vol.145, no.4, pp.389-394, 2011 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 145 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2011
  • Doi Number: 10.1093/rpd/ncq442
  • Journal Name: RADIATION PROTECTION DOSIMETRY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.389-394
  • Erzincan Binali Yildirim University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Indoor radon concentration measurements were carried out and corresponding annual effective doses due to exposure to indoor radon were determined in Artvin and Ardahan provinces located in the eastern part of Turkey. The measurements were performed for four seasons in order to determine the seasonal fluctuations mostly observed in indoor environments. Indoor radon concentration values were observed to range from 21 to 321 Bq m(-3) for the Artvin province and from 53 to 736 Bq m(-3) for the Ardahan province. It was observed that minimum indoor radon concentration values were obtained in summer, while the highest ones were observed in winter. Indoor radon concentration values of the current study were compared with those of other provinces in Turkey. As elevated indoor radon concentrations are mostly correlated with high U-238 activity concentrations in soil, a total of 57 and 33 soil samples were collected from the Artvin and Ardahan provinces, respectively, to determine U-238 activity concentration as well as the concentration of Th-232 and K-40-naturally occurring radionuclides. It was also observed that soil samples collected from the study areas contained Cs-137 as an artificial radionuclide.