Correlations between radon concentration and indoor gamma dose rate, soil permeability and dwelling substructure and ventilation

Correlations between radon concentration and indoor gamma dose rate, soil p ermeability and dwelling substructure and ventilation were studied using da ta from 84 low rise residential houses collected in an area of enhanced ind oor radon concentration. The radon concentrations varied from 30 to > 5000 Bq m(-3). Cross-tabulation, comparisons of means and multiplicative models were used to test the significance of the effects. In this study a quite hi gh percentage of explained variation R-2 (68%) was found. It was found that the most important factors were the substructure and the permeability of t he soil. Due to the rather small sample size and moderate variation in the uranium content of the bedrock of the area, the effect of the indoor gamma dose rate was not so prominent. The effects of ventilation habits and steep ing with open windows were not detected in this study. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.