Study of seasonal variation of indoor radon in Somwarpet taluk Coorg district, Karnataka

Radon (²²²Rn) is a noble gas and is formed by the decay of ²²⁶Ra, which is one of the nuclides formed in the disintegration series from ²³⁸U. In principle, the amount of radon formed in rocks and soils depends on their uranium content. However, this alone is not decisive in determining the radon concentration in air, it is also determined by the extent to which the radon atoms formed actually emanates from the mineral grains and whether radon can leave the pore space either by diffusion or together with a flow of air or water. The attached radon decay products in air cause greater biological effect through inhalation and can lead to lung cancer on prolonged exposure. ²¹⁸Po, ²¹⁴Pb, ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Po are the short lived decay product of radon, these decay products contributes the maximum dose through emitting of alpha and beta particles. Coorg receives high annual rainfall. A high indoor radon concentration is expected due to convective effect on radon. Hence, an attempt was made to study seasonal variation of Indoor radon in Somwarpet taluk, of Coorg District