『Abstract
Canada is a vast country with most of the population living on
a small portion of the land. However, for a national radon potential
map, it is mandatory to cover the entire country including sparsely
populated areas. Because of these characteristics, the radon map
development for Canada is challenging. After briefly reviewing
of radon map development in the world, this study considers a
multi-tier approach to best use available however limited resources
and to generate a national radon map in a timely fashion. In summary,
radon potential maps for highly populated areas should be determined
by direct indoor radon measurements where enough indoor radon
data are available. In areas where indoor radon measurements are
limited or not yet available the radon potential maps could be
developed from various sources with a multi-factor scoring system
including geological information on soil permeability, soil gas
radon concentration and ground uranium concentration. In sparsely
populated areas, radon potential maps can only be generated with
geological predictive tools, especially in those areas where no
houses have yet been built. because indoor radon measurement data
and geological information relevant to radon are very limited
in Canada, a multi-step strategy is also worth considering in
addition to the multi-tier approach.
Keywords: Radon; 222Rn; Indoor radon; Uranium; soil
gas permeability; Risk mapping』
Introduction
Brief review of radon potential mapping methods
Direct measurement of indoor radon concentrations
Geological radon predictive tools
Multi-factor scoring system
Available data for radon potential mapping in Canada
Indoor radon measurements
Airborne gamma-ray spectrometry surveys
Soil gas radon surveys
A multi-tier approach
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References