The primary objective of this work was to characterize employee exposure to radon and progeny while performing guide/interpretation and concessions duties in a tourist cavern. Radon gas and progeny concentrations, fraction of unattached progeny, and other environmental parameters were evaluated in a popular tourist cavern in Southeastern New Mexico. Alpha-track detectors were used to measure radon gas in several cavern locations during a 9-mo period. Additionally, radon gas and attached and unattached fractions of radon progeny were measured at three primary cavern work locations during a 1-d period using a SARAD EQF 3220. Radon gas concentrations in the cavern were elevated due to extremely low air exchange rates with substantial seasonal variation. Mean measured radon concentrations ranged from 970 to 2,600 Bq m-3 in the main cavern and from 5,400 to 6,000 Bq m-3 in a smaller cave associated with the regional cave system. Measurements of unattached fractions (0.40-0.60) were higher than those commonly found in mines and other workplaces, leading to the potential for relatively high worker dose. Although radon gas concentrations were below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limit, employees working in the cavern have the potential to accrue ionizing radiation dose in excess of the annual effective dose limit recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements due to a high unattached fraction of radon progeny. There was a strong negative correlation between unattached fractions and equilibrium factors, but these parameters should be further evaluated for seasonal variation. Introduction of engineering controls such as ventilation could damage the cavern environment, so administrative controls, such as time management, are preferred to reduce employee dose.

中文翻译：

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在旅游洞穴中暴露于氡气及其后代。

这项工作的主要目标是描述员工在旅游洞穴中履行导游/解释和特许职责时接触氡气及其子体的情况。在新墨西哥州东南部一个受欢迎的旅游洞穴中评估了氡气和子代浓度、未附着子代的比例以及其他环境参数。在 9 个月的时间里，使用 Alpha 轨道探测器测量了几个洞穴位置的氡气。此外，使用 SARAD EQF 3220 在 1 天的时间内测量了三个主要洞穴工作地点的氡气以及氡子体的附着和未附着部分。由于空气交换率极低，且季节性强，因此洞穴中的氡气浓度升高。变化。主洞穴中测得的平均氡浓度为 970 至 2,600 Bq m-3，与区域洞穴系统相关的较小洞穴中的平均测得氡浓度为 5,400 至 6,000 Bq m-3。未附着分数的测量值 (0.40-0.60) 高于矿山和其他工作场所常见的测量值，导致工人剂量可能相对较高。尽管氡气浓度低于职业安全与健康管理局允许暴露限值，但在洞穴中工作的员工累积的电离辐射剂量有可能超过国家辐射防护和测量委员会建议的年度有效剂量限值，因为氡子体的未附着部分较高。独立分数和平衡因子之间存在很强的负相关性，但应进一步评估这些参数的季节性变化。引入通风等工程控制可能会损害洞穴环境，因此最好采用时间管理等行政控制来减少员工剂量。