A study of radon-222 concentrations in North Carolina groundwater

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10102862· OSTI ID:10102862

Evans, James Philip ^[1]

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1. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)

The groundwater of 400 North Carolina homes was sampled to ascertain the distribution and extent of ²²²Rn in North Carolina groundwater. Arithmetic mean (AM) and geometric mean (GM) concentrations of 1,816 pCi L^-1 and 656 pCi L^-1 were found for the state. These results indicate that two-thirds of 114°C. homes served by groundwater exceed the EPA proposed 300 pCi L^-1 maximum contaminant level (MCL). Only 2% of NC homes exceeded 10,000 pCi L^-1. The Eastern region had the lowest radon concentrations by far, with a GM of 2-)0 pCi L^-1. The Central region and Western region had GM`s of 794 pCi L^-1 and 1,032 pCi L^-1 respectively. The groundwater data approached a log normal distribution. No consistent trends were noted in the relationship between indoor radon concentrations and groundwater radon concentrations. A correlation coefficient of 0.00921 revealed a very weak linear relationship.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc., TN (United States); North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill, NC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76OR00033
• OSTI ID: 10102862
• Report Number(s): DOE/OR/00033--T569; ON: DE94001412
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540230
CALIBRATION STANDARDS
COMPILED DATA
GEOLOGY
GROUND WATER
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RADON 222
SCINTILLATION COUNTERS