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Radon diffusion through soil is strongly affected by the degree of water saturation of the soil pores. Methods have been developed by many researchers to measure radon diffusion coefficient. We developed an updated experimental system to estimate radon diffusion coefficients for typical types of soil in Japan and applied it to a typical loam with different water saturation levels (0-0.82). The system consists of a passive-type scintillation cell, soil column, accumulation tank, and radon source. The radon concentration in the accumulation tank is kept stable, and radon diffused through the soil column is continuously measured with the passive-type scintillation cell. We found the radon diffusion coefficients vary from 9.60 × 10(-6) m(2) s(-1) to 1.27 × 10(-7) m(2) s(-1) for the loam samples. Generally, the diffusion coefficients are almost constant for a water saturation range of 0-0.4 and decrease with increasing water saturation from 0.4 to 0.82.

Abstract: The indoor radon concentration was estimated based on the radon flux in soil and groundwater. The indoor radon concentration in Budhakedar area of Garhwal Himalaya, India is estimated to be 3.0–131.4Bq/m3 in summer and 4.6–92.4Bq/m3 in winter. Based on the available data from study area, the calculated value of diffusion coefficient for the soil ranges from 0.1×10−2 to 3.0×10−2 cm2 s−1 in the summer season and 0.1×10−2 to 0.4×10−2 cm2 s−1 in the winter season. The calculated value of diffusion flux in the study area is found to vary from 0.1×10−2 to 16.1×10−2 Bqm−2 s−1 in summer season and 0.1×10−2–12.2×10−2 Bqm−2 s−1 in winter season. The formulation was tested by comparing the results of radon values from two different seasons of a year. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]