Radon continuous monitoring in Altamira Cave (northern Spain) to assess user's annual effective dose

In this work, we present the values of radon concentration, measured by continuous monitoring during a complete annual cycle in the Polychromes Hall of Altamira Cave in order to undertake more precise calculations of annual effective dose for guides and visitors in tourist caves. The (222)Rn levels...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Lario, Javier, Sánchez-Moral, Sergio, Cañaveras, Juan Carlos, Cuezva, Soledad, Soler, Vicente
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2005
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/345399
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/345399
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/13444259691
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Show cave
Cave environment
Dose conversion factor
Effective dose
Radon concentration
Descripción
Sumario:In this work, we present the values of radon concentration, measured by continuous monitoring during a complete annual cycle in the Polychromes Hall of Altamira Cave in order to undertake more precise calculations of annual effective dose for guides and visitors in tourist caves. The (222)Rn levels monitored inside the cave ranges from 186 Bq m(-3) to 7120 Bq m(-3), with an annual average of 3562 Bq m(-3). In order to more accurately estimate effective dose we use three scenarios with different equilibrium factors (F=0.5, 0.7 and 1.0) together with different dose conversion factors proposed in the literature. Neither effective dose exceeds international recommendations. Moreover, with an automatic radon monitoring system the time remaining to reach the maximum annual dose recommended could be automatically updated.