Seasonal variation of indoor radon concentration in a desert climate

Radon is one of the sources that negatively affect dwellings air quality and is ranked as a main cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. The indoor radon concentrations usually affected by the conditions of the environment surrounding the dwellings. Seasonal variations can have a significant impact on the indoor radon concentrations. In this article, we studied the seasonal variations of indoor radon concentration in a desert climate, particularly in gulf countries that usually leave the windows and doors closed all over the time. Four hundred dosimeters containing CR-39 detectors were planted for three months to measure the variation in radon concentration between winter and summer seasons. Our measurements showed that a building with a basement revealed a significant variation between radon concentration in winter (44.3 ± 3.1 Bq m−3) and in summer (26.1 ± 1.7 Bq m−3). Buildings without basements showed that the indoor radon concentration in winter (16.1 ± 1.7 Bq m−3) is very much close to that in summer (16.7 ± 1.8 Bq m−3). Our results indicated that seasonal variations can significantly affect indoor radon concentration for buildings established with basements. However; in the study region, the average indoor radon concentration as well as the annual effective dose rate are found to be below the action level recommended by ICRP.