Seasonal Variation of Indoor Radon Concentration Levels in Different Premises of a University Building

Pranas Baltrėnas, Raimondas Grubliauskas and Vaidotas Danila
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Pranas Baltrėnas: Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Sauletekis avenue 11, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania
Raimondas Grubliauskas: Department of Environmental Protection and Water Engineering, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Sauletekis avenue 11, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania
Vaidotas Danila: Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Sauletekis avenue 11, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: In the present study, we aimed to determine the changes of indoor radon concentrations depending on various environmental parameters, such as the outdoor temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure, in university building premises of different applications and heights. The environmental parameters and indoor radon concentrations in four different premises were measured each working day over an eight-month period. The results showed that the indoor radon levels strongly depended on the outside temperature and outside relative humidity, whereas the weakest correlations were found between the indoor radon levels and indoor and outdoor air pressures. The obtained indoor radon concentration and environmental condition correlations were different for the different premises of the building. That is, in two premises where the ventilation effect through unintentional air leakage points prevailed in winter, positive correlations between the radon concentration and outside temperature were obtained, reaching the values of 0.94 and 0.92, respectively. In premises with better airtightness, negative correlations ( R = −0.96 and R = −0.62) between the radon concentrations and outside temperature were obtained. The results revealed that high quality air isolation in premises could be an important factor for higher indoor radon levels during summer compared to winter.

Keywords: indoor radon concentration; seasonal changes; airtightness; outdoor temperature; humidity; university building (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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