Detección de gas Radón (222Rn) en las unidades educativas de nivel superior del Distrito de Educación 06D01 Chambo-Riobamba con infraestructura antigua de la ciudad de Riobamba.

Abstract

The objective of this research was to detect Radon gas (222Rn) in Higher Education Units (HEU) of the Education District 06D01 Chambo-Riobamba. All Radon concentration measurements in the education units were made by using a passive ALPHA-E detector in Germany. The device is based on a silicon diode diffusion chamber which evidence: sensitivity is cph at 100 Bq/m3, the range of measurement is 20 Bq/m3 to 10 Bq/m3, an immersion sensor to measure air temperature, humidity, pressure, and software (DATA VIEW) that allows data download and display. The ChamboRiobamba education units encompass cantons of Chimborazo province, Chambo, Licto and Cacha. In the present study 23/200 education units were chosen wich infrastructures date from 1815 to 2005. The radon monitoring places would be located on the ground floor or lower in the educational units. The monitoring time took 8 days for old education units (1815-1970) and 4 days for recent educational units (1975-2005), all of them at 1-hour measurement cycle intervals. The arithmetic averages of radon concentrations in the education units in old and recent infrastructures (except education unit SFN) were generally low with a maximum of less than half of the reference levels proposed by the European Union and the USA. In conclusion, the average radon concentration in older constructions is higher than in modern ones.