222Rn activity concentration in outdoor air of Johor, Malaysia

Abstract

Rakiya Haruna and^, Muneer Aziz Saleh

Radon is a radioactive element that has a great potential to cause cancer, in addition to other impacts on the environment.  In this study, an investigation was conducted to establish reference data for an outdoor concentration of ²²²Rn in air around  Johor state in  Malaysia. The ²²²R activity in outdoor air was measured using RAD7 solid-state alpha detector. The measured values vary from MDA to 3.85 Bq/L with a mean value of 0.15 ±0.04 Bq/L, which is approximately ten times the maximum permissible range specified by WHO (2016) of 0.005-0.015 Bq/L. A map of the spatial distribution of ²²²Rn in outdoor air was produced which indicates that higher values of ²²²Rn in outdoor air were measured in the north western part of this study area.