Development of a corrective model of short-term radon concentrations to estimate annual effective doses in the primary schools of the Doukkala-Abda region, Morocco
- 3 April 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Indoor and Built Environment
- Vol. 31 (6), 1482-1492
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326x211059134
Abstract
In order to assess the radiological impact of radon on >250,000 students, the total annual effective dose was estimated inside 204 Moroccan primary schools sampled in the Doukkala-Abda region. The measurement of indoor radon concentrations was conducted using the LR115 detector for each month, each season and throughout the year. The evolution of indoor radon concentrations showed a decrease in annual average radon concentrations of 20-26% and 10-14%, respectively, compared to the monthly and seasonal annual average radon concentrations. For this purpose, a corrective model of short-term radon concentrations was developed to calculate the seasonal correction factors in order to estimate the annual indoor radon concentrations. For the qualitative evaluation of these factors, a percentage of deviation between the measured and estimated annual radon concentrations was calculated. Almost half of the estimated annual concentrations were 10% less than the measured concentration and the majority of these estimated values were within 40%. The estimated total annual effective doses received by students, except those in the Sidi Bennour city, were higher than the world average (1.15 mSv/y). Nevertheless, all these doses remained below the permissible limit recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (3-10 mSv/y).Keywords
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