RADON IN COALFIELDS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND POLAND

In this paper we compare the nature of the radon problem in two countries each with a well established coal mining industry but with a differing climatic effects ranging from a mild maritime climate to a more stable continental regime. Investigations of radon concentrations in the housing stock have been undertaken for many years in the United Kingdom and radon potential maps exist for areas which include coalfields. Coalfield areas with their preponderance of mud-rocks with low permeability, and generally low to average levels of uranium would at first sight not present a great problem. However there can be radioelement concentrations within coal measures and as a result of mining subsidence, an artificial high permeability. There is also a high population density and although in many areas the proportion of dwellings with radon levels exceeding an action level may be low, the absolute numbers of affected houses may be high. Taking into considerations all the above-mentioned facts, including emanation, migration, and exhalation of radon, we can predict the increased radon hazard in the following areas of Upper Silesia: - the fault zones activated by mining operations; - the zones of surface deformation, especially in the vicinity of shallow voids and caverns; - the zones of karst process development, - sandstone sub-outcrops, - areas of abandoned settling ponds, where underground waters with high radium concentrations have been discharged. In this paper we investigate what lessons learned from surveys in United Kingdom can be applied to the situation in Poland.