The Spanish experience on HBRA

During the last two decades, the Department of Medical Physics of the University of Cantabria has been involved in the development of a Radiation Protection Programme throughout Spain. In the framework of this Programme, over 5000 measurements of indoor radon were carried out nationwide. A geometric mean radon concentration in air of 45 Bq m−3 with a standard deviation of 2.7 and a range of variation from 10 to 15,400 Bq m−3 were found. After that, several regional surveys were conducted to determine exposure to natural sources of radiation for people living in the vicinity of the old Spanish Uranium Mines and the Spanish Nuclear Power Stations as well as for those living in the populated areas of Sierra de Guadarrama close to Madrid city and Villar de la Yegua town. This paper summarizes the main results obtained from the measurements performed paying special attention to those concerning the High Background Radiation Areas of the country.