Radon level in dwellings and its correlation with uranium and radium content in some areas of Himachal Pradesh,India

LR- 115 plastic track detectors have been used to measure indoor radon level in some dwellings of Una district, Himachal Pradesh, India. The annual average radon concentration in dwellings in most of the villages falls in the range of the action level recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The radon values in some of the dwellings exceed the action level and may be unsafe from the health hazard point of view. The indoor radon values are in general higher in winter than in summer. Uranium, radium and radon exhalation studies have also been carried out in soil samples collected from these areas. A good correlation is obtained between uranium concentration in the soil and indoor radon in dwellings. The soil radon exhalation rate also correlates with the uranium concentration in soil.