Radon gas inside historical buildings in the city of Cordoba

Full text: In this work measurements of the Radon (222Rn) concentration in the inside of historical buildings which date back to the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th Centuries have been carried out in the city of Cordoba (Argentina). Meteorological factors such as room temperature and atmospheric pressure have not shown to affect, to a great extent, the results obtained. By comparing the concentration of 222Rn in environments at different levels we inferred that the soil underlying the buildings does not represent an important source of 222Rn. The main occurrence of the element was found in room walls, which shows that local building materials are an important source of 222Rn. Among the materials used in these buildings are granitic rocks, and to a lesser extent, lime, sand and marble. The 222Rn concentrations recorded in some of the rooms surveyed reach values which are close to the minimum intervene level set by international standards in 4pCi/l. The study of the effects of ventilation in the concentration of 222Rn allows us to conclude that its values decrease to accepted levels by means of a natural and efficient ventilation of the rooms. (author)