Chiang Mai province of Thailand is known for having the highest natural background radiation in the country, as well as being recognized as one of the world's most polluted cities for air quality. This represents the major contributor to the development of lung cancer. This research aims to estimate the comprehensive dose of both internal and external exposure due to natural background radiation and related health perspectives in the highly polluted area of Chiang Mai.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper presents the first measurement of the investigation of the health impacts of indoor radon exposure and external dose from terrestrial radiation in Chiang Mai province during the dry season burning between 2018 and 2020. Indoor radon activity concentrations were carried out using a total of 220 RADUET detectors in 45 dwellings of Chiang Mai (7 districts) during burning and non-burning seasons. Results show that indoor radon activity concentration during the burning season (63 ± 33 Bq/m3) was significantly higher (p < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural background gamma radiation was measured along the main roads in the eastern, western and southern regions of Thailand using a car-borne survey system with a 3-in × 3-in NaI (Tl) scintillation spectrometer. The system was able to quickly survey a large area and obtain outdoor absorbed dose rate in air from a gamma ray pulse height distribution. A total of 19 219 data of the outdoor absorbed dose rate in air were collected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe explored the possibility that an underground pathway, "submarine groundwater discharge" (SGD), may contribute to the observed coastal contamination from a large industrial complex on the Gulf of Thailand. Three surveys were performed to map the area for the natural groundwater tracers radon, thoron and salinity. The results from all three surveys were internally consistent showing a point source adjacent to a large pier that serves the complex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRadon flux via diffusion from sediments and other materials may be determined in the laboratory by circulating air through the sample and a radon detector in a closed loop. However, this approach is complicated by the necessity of having to determine the total air volume in the system and accounting for any small air leaks that can arise if using extended measurement periods. We designed a simple open-loop configuration that includes a measured mass of wet sediment and water inside a gas-tight reaction flask connected to a drying system and a radon-in-air analyzer.
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