Estimation of annual effective dose from indoor radon/thoron concentrations and measurement of radon concentrations in soil.

Radon short-lived decay products generated from the earth is one of the serious indoor air and soil pollutants. The RAD-7 Electronic Radon Detector with a special accessory is used for the purpose of measurement. The radon and thoron concentrations in the houses of the study area are found to vary from 35±0.5 to 315.2±5.35 Bq m(-3) and 66.1±2.3 to 1710±139.36 Bq m(-3) with the average values of 98.65±1.9 and 388.19±11 Bq m(-3), respectively. From indoor air, the total annual effective dose is calculated and it varies from 0.88 to 7.94 mSv y(-1). The preliminary investigation shows that the thoron concentration is higher than the radon concentration in the houses of the study area. In general, the values of the indoor air are within the recommended action level of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, 2009.