The activity concentrations of 234U and 238U in thermal groundwater, deep well water and river water samples from Central Poland were determined. Concentration of 234U and 238U in the examined waters varied from <0.013 (LLD) to 16.8 mBq/dm3 and from <0.013 (LLD) to 45.5 mBq/dm3 respectively. The highest uranium activity concentrations were measured in the thermal groundwater from Mszczonow and Cieplice, while the lowest were observed in thermal ground water from Uniejow and Poddebice. In thermal groundwater from Skierniewice, uranium activity concentrations were below lower limit of detection (0.013 mBq/dm3). The 234U/238U activity ratio varied from 0.37 (Cieplice) to 1.30 (Poddebice well water).
4 October 2012 in Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Plastic PicoRad detectors with activated charcoal have been used for radon monitoring in local kindergartens and schools in two cities, Kalisz and Ostrów Wielkopolski, in the region of Greater Poland. Detectors were exposed for a standard time of 48 h during the autumn and winter of 2011 in 103 rooms (Kalisz) and 55 rooms (Ostrów Wlkp), respectively. The detectors were calibrated in the certified radon chamber of the Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection in Warsaw, Poland. The arithmetic and geometric means of indoor radon concentrations in the examined rooms were 46.0 and 30.3 Bq/m3 for Kalisz and 48.9 and 29.8 Bq/m3 for Ostrów Wlkp, respectively. The measured levels of the indoor radon concentrations were relatively low, since the main source of indoor radon for these low storey (max. three storeys) buildings is radon escaping from the underlying soil with a low 226Ra concentration (~15 Bq/m3). Therefore, the calculated annual effective doses from that source for the children in Kalisz and Ostrów Wlkp were also low 0.35 mSv.