Radon Exposure in the Underground Tourist Route–Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry, Poland

Agata Grygier, Krystian Skubacz, Małgorzata Wysocka, Michał Bonczyk, Adam Piech and Mirosław Janik ()
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Agata Grygier: Silesian Centre for Environmental Radioactivity, Central Mining Institute (GIG), Plac Gwarków 1, 40166 Katowice, Poland
Krystian Skubacz: Silesian Centre for Environmental Radioactivity, Central Mining Institute (GIG), Plac Gwarków 1, 40166 Katowice, Poland
Małgorzata Wysocka: Silesian Centre for Environmental Radioactivity, Central Mining Institute (GIG), Plac Gwarków 1, 40166 Katowice, Poland
Michał Bonczyk: Silesian Centre for Environmental Radioactivity, Central Mining Institute (GIG), Plac Gwarków 1, 40166 Katowice, Poland
Adam Piech: Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry, Szczęść Boże 81, 42600 Tarnowskie Góry, Poland
Mirosław Janik: National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: An assessment of the exposure of workers and tourists to radon in the underground tourist route of the Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry was carried out. The study was conducted over a one-year period to capture seasonal variations in radon concentrations. CR-39 track detectors were used to measure radon concentrations, which were exposed in the mine during the following periods: 9 February 2021–19 May 2021, 19 May 2021–26 August 2021, 26 August 2021–25 November 2021 and 25 November 2021–3 March 2022. The annual average radon concentration along the tourist route was 1021 Bq m − 3 . The highest measured concentration was 2280 Bq m − 3 and the lowest concentration was 80 Bq m − 3 . Based on the measured concentrations, effective doses were calculated, assuming that employees spend 1350 h a year in underground areas and that the time of visiting the mine by tourists is ca. 1 h. The average annual effective dose a worker would receive is approximately 2.5 mSv, and a tourist below 2 μ Sv. The dose limit expressed as the annual effective dose is 1 mSv for members of the general public and 20 mSv for occupational exposure.

Keywords: radon exposure; underground show mine; year-round measurements; seasonal variability; track detectors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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