Measurements in Afghanistan using an active radon exposure meter and assessment of related annual effective dose.

Radon gas concentrations in eight basements, four living rooms and four caves from different locations in Kabul and Panjsher, Afghanistan, were measured by using eight active radon exposure meters recently developed by the Helmholtz Center in Munich, Germany. The two-phase measurements lasted from a week to a year. In the first phase of measurements which lasted one week, the mean activity concentrations ranged from 6 to 120 Bq/m 3 and 25 to 139 Bq/m 3 for the basements and caves, respectively. In the second phase of measurements which lasted one year, the mean activity concentrations ranged from 33 to 2064 Bq/m 3 and the corresponding effective annual doses calculated for the inhabitants were in the range between 0.6 and 33.4 mSv. As some of the values are rather high and exceed the recommended recommendations by IAEA and ICRP, based on the local conditions a number of simple recommendations has been proposed for the possible reduction of effective annual dose caused by radon in the measurement locations