Speaker
Please indicate whether<br>this abstract may be<br>published online<br>(Yes / No)
Yes
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, N/A)?
Msc
Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
No
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)<br><a href="http://events.saip.org.za/getFile.py/access?resId=0&materialId=0&confId=34" target="_blank">Formatting &<br>Special chars</a>
There is considerable public concern about radon exhalation from building materials. The purpose of this study is to address this public concern and to estimate the contribution of building materials to indoor radon levels. As in soil and rock; radon gas is formed inside the building materials by decay of the parent nuclide 226Ra. It is not possible to determine the radon exhalation rate simply from the activity concentration of 226Ra, instead one must measure radon exhalation rates directly from the surface of the material.222Rn has been identified as an important factor that could result in a health hazard by studies all around the world.
The experiments were done at the UWC physics department, in the Nuclear Physics Lab. A RAD7 radon detector was used to measure the energies of each alpha particle emitted. The RAD 7 records the number of alpha particles with energy of 6.11 MeV which results from the decay of 218Po, the daughter of 222Rn. The RAD 7 detector converts counts into Becquerel’s per cubic metre (Bq/m3) or Becquerel’s per Litre (Bq/L). The building materials tested was the raw materials used in construction such as two different types of building sand, stones and gravel. The building materials used for composed of various raw materials to create a final product was floor-and-roof tiles and various granites from across the country.
Many building materials were found to have a very low rate of radon exhalation. The only materials that had any significant radon exhalation were 2 granites. It is safe to say that the overwhelming majority of building materials are safe to use but some granites may require further study.
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Professor Robert Lindsay
rlindsay@uwc.ac.za
University of the Western Cape
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
No
