Indoor radon concentrations for buildings of different ages in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Abstract

Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive noble gas with no colour, odour and taste to which humans are usually exposed. Prolonged inhalation of radon gas is the second main contributor to lung cancer among smokers and non-smokers. This study aimed to compare radon levels between the old (Faculty of Science) and new (Faculty of Civil Engineering) buildings of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and also to compare concentrations of radon between ground floor and second floor within the two types of buildings. The RAD7 was selected as the equipment to measure radon concentrations at the laboratories, meeting rooms and lecturer rooms at the monitored buildings. The radon content of both the old and new buildings did not exceed the WHO reference level of 100 Bqm-3. However, radon at the new building was present at higher concentrations than that at the old buildings on average. In the old buildings, radon levels of the laboratory on ground floor were higher than those of the meeting room on second floor by 3.8 Bqm-3 but lower than those of the lecturer room on second floor by 9.7 Bqm-3. Conversely, the structure laboratory at the new building on ground floor had markedly higher radon levels than those of the lecturer room but showed lower readings than the meeting room on second floor.