Radon Levels in a Hospital in Niterói Municipality-RJ, Brazil

Uranium and radium are present in soil, rocks, water and building materials, therefore the presence of 222Rn in the air is natural, and its concentration is determined mainly by physical factors such as soil cover, altitude, porosity and soil particle size, and meteorological conditions. In rooms with poor ventilation,222Rn can accumulate to high concentrations, which increases the risk of developing lung cancer due to continuous exposure to this gas. In this work,222Rn was monitored, with the aid of a real-time radon monitor, RAD7, in offices and rooms at Hospital Universitário Antônio Pedro in order to evaluate the levels of 222Rn to which people are exposed. In general, the values measured in this work are similar to values observed in other studies around the world. The obtained 222Rn level of 40 Bq m-3 is close to the world average of 37 Bq m-3 defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).铀和镭广泛分布于土壤、岩石、水体及建筑材料中，因此空气中氡-222（222Rn）的存在属于自然现象，其浓度主要受土壤覆盖层、海拔高度、孔隙率、土壤粒径等物理因素及气象条件影响。在通风不良的室内环境中，氡-222可积聚至较高浓度，长期暴露于该气体将提升肺癌发病风险。本研究借助实时氡监测仪RAD7，在安东尼奥·佩德罗大学医院的办公室与病房内开展氡-222浓度监测，以评估人员所暴露的氡浓度水平。总体而言，本研究测得的浓度值与全球其他同类研究的观测结果基本一致。本研究测得的氡-222平均浓度为40 Bq·m⁻³，与美国环境保护署（US EPA）划定的全球平均参考值37 Bq·m⁻³较为接近。