Radon in soil gas of Johor, Malaysia

Authors

  • Rakiya Haruna

    Federal College of Education, Zaria P.M.B 1041 Kaduna state, Nigeria
    Author
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0319-9663

  • M. A Saleh

    Washington State Department of Health, USA
    Author

  • S. Hashim

    Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
    Author

Keywords:

222Rn in sol gas, geological formations, soil types, spatial distribution

Abstract

Haruna*, M. A Saleh, S. Hashim

This study was conducted to establish baseline data for radon (222Rn) activity concentration in soil gas of Johor, Malaysia. RAD7 alpha detector was used to measure the activity concentration of 222Rn in soil gas. The descriptive statistic and hypothesis tests were done using SPSS software. An inverse distance weighting interpolation (IDW) technique was used to obtain the spatial distribution of the measured 222Rn in soil gas in the ArcGIS software. The measured activity concentration of 222Rn in soil gas varies from MDA to 127250 Bq m⁻3. Higher values of 222Rn in soil gas were found in the soil developed from granitic rocks. A statistically significant difference in the median values of 222Rn activity concentration among the soil types and geological formations of Johor state (P=0.008 and P=0.028, respectively) was observed. A map of the spatial distribution of the measured 222Rn activity concentration in soil gas was created.

Author Biographies

  • Rakiya Haruna, Federal College of Education, Zaria P.M.B 1041 Kaduna state, Nigeria

    Department of Physics, School of Secondary Education (Sciences

  • M. A Saleh, Washington State Department of Health, USA

    Office of Radiation Protection,  Environmental Public Health

  • S. Hashim, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

    Department of Physics, Faculty of Science

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Published

2021-12-25

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 4 (2021): VOLUME 7 ISSUE 4

Section

Articles