Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Analysis of radon depth profile in soil air after a rainfall by using diffusion model

  • Maeng, Seongjin (School of Architectural, Civil, Environmental and Energy Engineering, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Han, Seung Yeon (School of Architectural, Civil, Environmental and Energy Engineering, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Lee, Sang Hoon (School of Architectural, Civil, Environmental and Energy Engineering, Kyungpook National University)
  • Received : 2018.08.28
  • Accepted : 2019.06.19
  • Published : 2019.12.25
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Abstract

The radon concentrations in soil air were measured before and after a rainfall. 226Ra concentration, porosity, moisture content and temperature in soil were measured at Kyungpook National University in Daegu. As the results of measurement and analysis, the arithmetic mean of measured 222Rn concentration increased from 12100 ± 500 Bq/㎥ to 16200 ± 600 Bq/㎥ after the rainfall. And the measured 226Ra concentration was 61.4 ± 5.7 Bq/kg and the measured porosity was 0.5 in soil. The estimated values of 226Ra concentration and porosity using diffusion model of 222Rn in soil were 60.3 Bq/kg and 0.509, respectively. The estimated values were similar to the measured values. 222Rn concentration in soil increased with depth and moisture content. The estimations were obtained through fitting based on the diffusion model of 222Rn using the measurement values. The measured depth profiles of 222Rn were similar to the calculated depth profiles of 222Rn in soil. We hope that the results of this study will be useful for environmental radiation analysis.

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