It is commonly known that people are exposed to radon and its progenies since they spend about 35% of daytime at workplaces. This exposure has been reported to be more than 50% of the natural radiation. Therefore, determination of indoor radon concentration has been widely conducted by the scientists. This work presents indoor radon measurements and the associated annual dose equivalentsobtained in 28 public buildings of the Afyonkarahisar province. The survey was conducted using passive nuclear track detectors and repeated quarterly during a year.The investigation focused on the seasonal and regional effects in indoor radon concentration anomalies. The measured values ranged from 13 Bq.m-3to 1932 Bq.m-3, whereas the calculated average values were in the range of 21,75 Bq.m-3and 1032,50Bq.m-3. Moreover, the mean indoor radon concentration and the corresponding annual dose equivalent valueswere obtained as 158,83±13,16Bq.m-3and 1,25±0,10mSv.y-1, respectively.

Afyonkarahisar and its surroundings are in the middle of the Akşehir-Simav Fault System. Before the earthquakes in the region, radon anomalies were observed in some well waters. Linear equations between radon minima and earthquake magnitudes (M_w) were obtained, and correlation coefficients (R²) were calculated. The correlation coefficient (R²) values of the wells from 1 to 6 were obtained as 0.93, 0.83, 0.82, 0.97, 0.87 and 0.85, respectively. Good correlations (high R² values) were obtained between the radon minimum and the earthquake magnitude (M_w) in 6 wells. The precursory minimum observed at the radon concentration in groundwater decreased as the earthquake's magnitude increased.

Background: Despite the identification of various environmental factors that increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), the effects of many factors on the etiology of MS remain to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of radon, a factor previously studied in relation to various other neurodegenerative diseases, on the epidemiology of MS. Methods: A door-to-door field study was conducted in residential areas with relatively high and low radon gas concentrations to determine the prevalence of MS. The study area comprises the Bolvadin and İhsaniye regions, which have different geological characteristics, such as seismic activity, active faults, and distributions of volcanic rocks. CR-39 detectors, with an accepted limit of 300 Bq/m³, were utilized to measure radon gas concentrations. During the screening field, the patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis were confirmed with their hospital records. Mc Donald’s revised diagnostic criteria were used for multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Results: The regions were grouped into higher radon areas and lower radon areas. The İhsaniye city center, Kayıhan, Kemerkaya, Döğer, and Bolvadin city center were classified as higher radon regions, whereas Dişli, Yaylabağı, Gazlıgöl, and Özburun were identified as lower radon regions. A total of 40,841 individuals were surveyed in the field. The crude MS prevalence was 41.8/100,000 in settlements with high radon gas concentrations and 20.5/100,000 in settlements with low radon gas concentrations. Conclusions: In this study, we revealed that the prevalence of MS was greater in settlements with high radon gas concentrations than in settlements with low radon gas concentrations. These results demonstrated that radon gas is an important environmental risk factor in the etiopathogenesis of MS.

Radon concentrations were measured in four-well and spring water, which is used as drinking water, in the villages and districts of Afyonkarahisar province near Akşehir-Simav fault system for 24 month period, and the annual average effective dose amounts were calculated. In addition, the relationship between the average radon concentration results of potable water wells and the distance of the wells to the fault was examined for the first time in this region. Mean radon concentrations were measured between 1.9 ± 0.3 and 11.9 ± 0.5 Bql⁻¹. The annual effective dose values were calculated between 11 ± 1.7 and 70.1 ± 2.8 μSvy⁻¹ for infants, 4.0 ± 0.6 and 25.7 ± 1.0 μSvy⁻¹ for children and 4.8 ± 0.7 and 30.5 ± 1.2 μSvy⁻¹ for adults. In addition, the effect of the distance of the wells from the fault on the mean radon concentrations was also investigated. The regression coefficient (R²) was calculated as 0.85. The average radon concentration was observed higher in the water wells close to the fault. The highest mean radon concentration was measured in well no. 4, closest to the fault and 1.07 km away.

Radon is a tasteless, odorless, colorless radioactive noble gas which is produced in the decay chain of uranium existed in the rock layer. Since radon is in the gas form, it is more mobile than its parent radionuclides which namely are uranium and radium. Therefore, radon can easily escape soil and rocks through the pores between the soil granules, and the openings in the rock, cracks, and fractures. Because of these characteristics, changes in radon concentration levels are commonly used for seismological purposes. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the radon activity concentration in soil gas on Akşehir fault zone and the vertical distance of the sampling points to the fault zone. For this purpose, radon activity concentrations were monthly determined at 10 sampling points during six-month period. Although no significant correlation can be seen for all sampling points at all, a correlation coefficient of 0.96 was obtained when only the six of sampling points taken into account.

Background: Radon in drinking water is a potential source of ionizing radiation exposure, yet long-term monitoring data from active tectonic regions remain limited. This study investigated ²²²Rn activity concentrations in drinking-water wells along the Sultandağı Fault (Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye) and assessed age-dependent radiological risks. Methods: ²²²Rn concentrations were measured at two-week intervals in 15 drinking-water wells between June 2021 and June 2022 using a WG-1001 water–gas separation system and an AB-5R radiation monitor. Annual effective dose (AED) and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were calculated for infants, children, and adults. Results: ²²²Rn concentrations ranged from 0.05 to 26.64 Bq L⁻¹, with a mean of 6.12 ± 2.79 Bq L⁻¹. Only one well exceeded the USEPA guideline level (11.1 Bq L⁻¹), whereas all measurements remained below the WHO reference level (100 Bq L⁻¹). Seasonal mean concentrations varied between 5.48 ± 2.53 and 7.08 ± 3.32 Bq L⁻¹. Mean AED values were 35.94, 13.17, and 15.63 μSv y⁻¹ for infants, children, and adults, respectively. Corresponding ELCR values were 1.26 × 10⁻⁴, 0.46 × 10⁻⁴, and 0.55 × 10⁻⁴. Conclusions: The results indicate generally low radiological risk from radon in drinking water within the study area, although elevated values were observed in some wells. Higher age-specific dose and risk estimates were obtained for infants. These findings provide long-term data on groundwater ²²²Rn variability in an active fault zone and support regional radiological risk assessment.