Radon and thoron exhalation rate in the soil of Western Haryana, India.

This study reports the exhalation rates of radon and thoron from surface soil collected from 60 rural sites of district Hisar, Haryana, India. The exhalation rates of Rn ²²² (radon) and Rn ²²⁰ (thoron) were measured by portable SMART RnDuo (AQTEK SYSTEMS) using a mass accumulation chamber which was equipped with a scintillation material-coated cell. Dose rates due to natural gamma radiations ranged from 0.526 to 1.139 mSv y ^-1 . The Rn ²²² mass exhalation rate in soil samples varied from 0.14 to 94.65 mBq kg ^-1  h ^-1 . Thoron surface exhalation rates ranged from 46.42 to 619.88 Bq m ^-2  h ^-1 . This study gives an idea about the differences in Rn ²²² and Rn ²²⁰ exhalation at different locations which may be due to variations in geological features of the locations and characteristics of the topsoil. The findings show that usage of study area soil as building material is safe.
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