Soil radon monitoring in the Krsko Basin, Slovenia.

In order to support the safe operation of the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant (Westinghouse, 676 MWe PWR), the seismotectonic structure of the Krsko basin has been thoroughly investigated. As part of a wider study, a study on radon in soil gas was started in April 1999. Combined barasol detectors buried in six boreholes, two along the Orlica fault and four on either side of it, measure and record radon activity, temperature and pressure every 60 min. The results have been evaluated and the possibility of a correlation with seismic activity is discussed. Correlation between radon concentration and barometric pressure has been observed for all barasols. Preliminary results show that, at one location, the correlation coefficient between radon and barometric pressure changed sign before earthquakes.