ESTIMATION OF RADIOLOGICAL IMPACT ON RESIDENTS DUE TO HOUSEHOLD STORAGE OF COAL USED FOR HEATING IN SERBIA

This pa per aims to es ti mate a po ten tial ra dio log i cal risk from dif fer ent kinds of coals used for do mes tic heat ing in Ser bia, by mea sur ing the ac tiv ity con cen tra tion of radionuclides and ra don ex ha la tion rate. The ob tained ra don mass ex ha la tion rate ranges from (5.3 +/- 3.1) mu Bqkg-1s-1 to (70.3 +/- 9.4) mu Bqkg -1s-1 and was high est for lig nite type of coal. It is es ti mated that coal stored in the base ment could con trib ute up to 50 Bqm-3 of in door ra don con cen tra tion at the ground level. Ac tiv ity con cen tra tions of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, 238U, 235U, and 210Pb in ana lysed coal sam ples agree with pre vi ously re ported con cen tra tions of coal used in Ser bia. The values of radium equivalent concentration and external hazard index indicate that the used coal does not represent a significant radiation hazard.

Automated summary

This study aimed to estimate the potential radiological risk from different types of coals used for domestic heating in Serbia by measuring the activity concentration of radionuclides and radon exhalation rate. The highest radon mass exhalation rate was found in lignite coal. The results suggest that coal stored in the basement could contribute significantly to indoor radon concentration, but overall, the coal used in Serbia does not pose a significant radiation hazard.