Environment of Air-Ions in Healing Chambers in the Wieliczka Salt Mine

The present paper is an attempt to determine the parameters of air-ions in salt mines. The investigations were aimed at determination of the degree of ionization of air in places where cosmic ray particles do not arrive at. Specifically, measurements were performed in healing chambers in salt mines where establishment of standards in the healing process should be considered as the necessity. Preliminary investigations were carried out in three salt mines using the Gerdien ion counter, with sensitivity approximately of 20 ions/cm(3). The studies have shown that concentrations of small air-ion are in the range of 1200-4700 ions/cm(3) and remain persistently in adits and medicinal chambers of this mine. It means that the air in the Wieliczka Salt Mine is several times more saturated with air-ions as compared to the neutral atmosphere background. According to the existing standards, this ionization level is not only deemed acceptable but also optimal for humans. Because results of unsystematic measurements of ion concentrations performed in different Polish salt mines are quite similar, it is assumed that the results presented in this paper are of universal character, and that comparable ionization level in the all mines would be expected. Due to this fact, it was decided that only one of them Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland) can be selected for further detailed research.