Indoor radon levels and influencing factors in houses of Patras, Greece.

Measurements of indoor radon concentrations were performed in 28 low-rise houses and 30 apartments in Patras area from December 1996 to November 1997, using nuclear track detectors. The investigation was focused on the effects of season and floor number, as well as on the existence of a basement in low-rise houses on indoor radon levels. It was found that the differences in mean radon concentrations between adjacent seasons, in a number of 61 selected sampling sites distributed in 28 houses, were statistically significant. As expected, a maximum was found in winter and a minimum in summer. The differences in mean radon concentration on different floors of the same houses were also statistically significant and followed a linear decrease from underground to 2nd floor. In addition, indoor radon concentrations in the ground floor were found to be influenced by the existence or not of a basement. The average annual radon concentration was found to be 41 Bq m(-3) for the houses, 28 Bq m(-3) for the apartments and 38 Bq m(-3) for all the dwellings. These values lead to an average effective dose equivalent of 1.1, 0.7 and 0.9 mSv y(-1), respectively. Residents living on the underground in low-rise houses, during winter, where the average effective dose equivalent is 2.1 mSv y(-1), attain the higher risk.