Abstract
After the underwater eruption that took place on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain) in 2012, there were significant increases in radon gas emissions in the soil. This study was aimed to measure the radon concentrations in public building in El Hierro in order to have better knowledge of the implications of a submarine eruption and the radon levels on the island. The study was undertaken in 38 public buildings located in the three municipalities of the island. Although high concentrations of radon gas were expected due to the recent eruptions, it was found that 70% of the facilities studied maintained radon gas concentration values below the limit values established by Directive 2013/59/EURATOM.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Appleton, J. D. (2013). Radon in air and water. In O. Selinus (Ed.), Essentials of Medical Geology: Revised Edition (pp. 239–277). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4375-5_11
Arvela H (2001) Experiences in radon-safe building in Finland. Sci Total Environ 272(1–3):169–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(01)00688-X
Assembly, G. (2018). UNSCEAR 2017 Report: SOURCES, EFFECTS AND RISKS OF IONIZING RADIATION. http://www.unscear.org/docs/publications/2017/UNSCEAR_2017_Report.pdf
Awhida A, Ujić P, Vukanac I, Đurašević M, Kandić A, Čeliković I, Lončar B, Kolarž P (2016) Novel method of measurement of radon exhalation from building materials. J Environ Radioact 164:337–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2016.08.009
Burghele B, Ţenter A, Cucoş A, Dicu T, Moldovan M, Papp B, Szacsvai K, Neda T, Suciu L, Lupulescu A, Maloş C, Florică Ş, Baciu C, Sainz C (2019) The FIRST large-scale mapping of radon concentration in soil gas and water in Romania. Sci Total Environ 669:887–892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.342
Celik N, Cevik U, Celik A, Kucukomeroglu B (2008) Determination of indoor radon and soil radioactivity levels in Giresun, Turkey. J Environ Radioact 99(8):1349–1354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2008.04.010
Chen J, Rahman NM, Atiya IA (2010) Radon exhalation from building materials for decorative use. J Environ Radioact 101(4):317–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2010.01.005
Copes, R., & Peterson, E. (2014). Indoor radon a public health perspective
CSN (2012) Guía de Seguridad 11.4: Metodología para la evaluación de la exposición al radón en los lugares de trabajo. Guías de Seguridad, p 34
Dai D, Neal FB, Diem J, Deocampo DM, Stauber C, Dignam T (2019) Confluent impact of housing and geology on indoor radon concentrations in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Sci Total Environ 668:500–511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.257
Darby S, Hill D, Auvinen A, Barros-Dios JM, Baysson H, Bochicchio F, Deo H, Falk R, Forastiere F, Hakama M, Heid I, Kreienbrock L, Kreuzer M, Lagarde F, Mäkeläinen I, Muirhead C, Oberaigner W, Pershagen G, Ruano-Ravina A, Ruosteenoja E, Rosario AS, Tirmarche M, Tomáscaron;ek L, Whitley E, Wichmann HE, Doll R (2005) Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case-control studies. Br Med J 330(7485):223–226. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38308.477650.63
De Francesco S, Tommasone FP, Cuoco E, Tedesco D (2010) Indoor radon seasonal variability at different floors of buildings. Radiat Meas 45(8):928–934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2010.05.026
Finne IE, Kolstad T, Larsson M, Olsen B, Prendergast J, Rudjord AL (2019) Significant reduction in indoor radon in newly built houses. J Environ Radioact 196(January 2018):259–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.01.013
Franesqui, M. A., Yepes, J., & Jubera, J. (2015). Caracterización de áridos volcánicos de canarias y aplicaciones en la construcción de carreteras
Fuente M, Rábago D, Goggins J, Fuente I, Sainz C, Foley M (2019) Radon mitigation by soil depressurisation case study: radon concentration and pressure field extension monitoring in a pilot house in Spain. Sci Total Environ 695:133746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133746
Girault F, Perrier F (2012) Estimating the importance of factors influencing the radon-222 flux from building walls. Sci Total Environ 433:247–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.06.034
IARC (1988) Evaluation of the carcinogenic risks to humans. In International Agency for Research on Cancer 43
Khan MS, Srivastava DS, Azam A (2012) Study of radium content and radon exhalation rates in soil samples of northern India. Environ Earth Sci 67(5):1363–1371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1581-7
Kumar A, Chauhan RP (2015) Back diffusion correction for radon exhalation rates of common building materials using active measurements. Materials and Structures/Materiaux et Constructions 48(4):919–928. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-013-0203-5
Losada A, Peña R, Viñas A, Hernández LE (2013) Caracterización geomecánica de rocas. Universidad de La Laguna, Parámetros mecánico-deformacionales y geoquímicos
Maringer FJ, Wiedner H, Cardellini F (2020) An innovative quick method for tracable measurement of radon 222 in drinking water. Appl Radiat Isot 155(September 2019):108907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.108907
Moreno V, Bach J, Font L, Baixeras C, Zarroca M, Linares R, Roqué C (2016) Soil radon dynamics in the Amer fault zone: an example of very high seasonal variations. J Environ Radioact 151:293–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.10.018
Padilla GD, Hernández PA, Padrõn E, Barrancos J, Pérez NM, Melián G et al (2013) Soil gas radon emissions and volcanic activity at El Hierro (Canary Islands): the 2011-2012 submarine eruption. Geochem Geophys Geosyst 14(2):432–447. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GC004375
Petropoulos NP, Anagnostakis MJ, Simopoulos SE (2002) Photon attenuation, natural radioactivity content and radon exhalation rate of building materials. J Environ Radioact 61(3):257–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(01)00132-1
Ruano-Ravina A, Narocki C, López-Jacob MJ, García Oliver A, Tierno C, M. de la C., Peón-González, J., & Barros-Dios, J. M. (2018) Indoor radon in Spanish workplaces. A pilot study before the introduction of the European Directive 2013/59/Euratom. Gac Sanit 33(6):563–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2018.05.006
Thu H, Van Thang N, Loan TTH, Van Dong N, Hao LC (2019) Natural radioactivity and radon emanation coefficient in the soil of Ninh Son region, Vietnam. Appl Geochem 104(March):176–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.03.019
Troll VR, Carracedo JC (2016) The geology of El Hierro. In The Geology of the Canary Islands. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-809663-5.00002-5
Verma D, Shakir Khan M, Zubair M (2012) Assessment of effective radium content and radon exhalation rates in soil samples. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 294(2):267–270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-1694-1
Walczak K, Olszewski J, Zmyślony M (2016) Radon permeability of insulating building materials. Nukleonika 61(3):289–293. https://doi.org/10.1515/nuka-2016-0048
Yarmoshenko I, Vasilyev A, Malinovsky G, Bossew P, Žunić ZS, Onischenko A, Zhukovsky M (2016) Variance of indoor radon concentration: major influencing factors. Sci Total Environ 541:155–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.077
Acknowledgments
Research Project is funded by the Instituto Canario de Seguridad Laboral (ICASEL), Canary Islands Government, under the Project N° A18120150 “Development of procedures for the protection of workers’ health against the risks derived from exposure to radon gas in workplaces on the Island of El Hierro: A pilot experience for the Canary Islands”.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Santamarta, J.C., Hernández-Gutiérrez, L.E., Rodríguez-Martín, J. et al. Radon measurements in public buildings in El Hierro, Canary Islands (Spain). Air Qual Atmos Health 14, 895–902 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-021-00987-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-021-00987-y