Determination of radon concentrations (Rn-222) in well waters in Afyon and its surrounding

Radon is a radioactive heaviest noble gas that occurs naturally in grounwater as a product ofdecay of uranium. Radon is produced continuously in rocks and soils through α-decay of226 222radium. Decay products of radon emit highly ionizing α particles. Ra and Rn and itsdecay products are the main source of the natural radiation dose received by the general222 226public. In recent years, the study of Rn and Ra levels in water samples have increasedsignificantly, since international health organizations considered radon as cancerigenic.222 226Although different Rn and Ra concentration results have been obtained in watersamples in these studies, it is possible seeing many values which exceeded the permissiblevalues of International Health Organizations.The aim of this work is to determine radon and radium concentrations in well waters inAfyonkarahisar and its surroundings. Samples were taken in daily and weekly periods as itwas planned and analyzed with the AB-5R model radon detector produced by PylonElectronics.In this study, the measured maximum values of the radon and radium concentrations were28,82 Bq/L and 7,16 Bq/L, respectively. Similarly, the measured minumum values of theradon and radium concentrations were 0,42 Bq/L and 0,07 Bq/L, respectively. Linearcorrelation was observed between radon and radium concentrations. It was found that there isa linear correlation ranging from 0,85 to 0,99 between radon and radium concentrations.Keywords: Radon, Radium, well water, Pylon AB-5R dedector