Determination of radon concentration in some schools in Bitlis-Tatvan district

Radon is a radioactive noble gas from the uranium family. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless and about 7 times heavier than air. It cannot be detected by the senses. Radon is a proven carcinogen. It ranks second among the causes of lung cancer. It is important for health to determine indoor radon concentrations and take necessary precautions. This thesis aimed to determine the radon concentrations in some schools in the Tatvan district of Bitlis province. LR-115 solid state nuclear track detectors were used in the study. Measurements were taken in two quarterly periods with detectors. The first measurements were taken in the spring period covering the months of March, April, and May, while the second measurements were taken in the autumn period covering the months of September, October, and November. Additionally, detectors were placed on different floors to observe the relationship between indoor floor levels and radon concentrations. The arithmetic mean radon concentration was measured as 86.82 Bq/𝑚3 for the spring period, 137.28 Bq/𝑚3 for the autumn period and 105.57 Bq/𝑚3 for the annual average. The arithmetic mean radon concentration in the ground and basement floors of the schools was measured as 122.89 Bq/𝑚3, while it was 99.38 Bq/𝑚3 for the upper floors. The annual effective dose to which teachers and students in the school were expose to due to radon gas was calculated. The arithmetic mean of the annual effective dose was calculated as 0.61 mSv𝑦−1. Measurement results were compared with those of the TAEK and international agencies. According to the study results, the radiological risk for the 20 schools in the Tatvan district of Bitlis province is quite low.