The correlation between indoor and in soil radon concentrations in a desert climate

This study examines the levels and the correlation between indoor and in soil radon concentration in a desert climate. The measurements are carried out, in Jordan desert in AlMafraq district, using the passive integrated technique. An intelligent automated tracks counting system, modified recently by our group, is used to estimate the overlapping tracks and to decrease the counting percentage error. Results show that radon concentration in soil expands from 4.09 to 11.30 kBq m(-3), with an average of 7.53 kBq m(-3). Indoor radon concentrations vary from 20.2 Bq m(-3) in the AlMafraq city to 46.7 Bq m(-3) in Housha village and with an average of 29.6 Bq m(-3). All of individual indoor radon concentrations are lower than the limit (100 Bq m(-3)) recommended by WHO except two dwellings in Housha village which found being higher than this limit. A moderate linear correlation (R-2=0.66) was observed between indoor and in soil radon concentrations in the investigated region. Our results showed that an in soil radon measurement can be a satisfactory predictor for indoor radon potential. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.