Elevated radon concentrations in a Pleistocenic cave operating as a show cave

Abstract: Radon measurements were carried out, using solid-state nuclear track-etch detectors (SSNTDs) with type CA 80-15 cellulose nitrate films, in a Pleistocenic cave at Petralona, in Halkidiki, northern Greece, 55 km distant from the city of Thessaloniki. Radon levels as high as 88 kBq m−3 (2.38 nCi l−1) recorded inside the cave is equivalent to 11.90 WL in terms of occupational exposure to radon and its decay products. Absorbed dose rates were measured using TL dosimeters, type TLD-200 (CaF2-Dy), in a continuous monitoring program (integrated measurements). Dose rate levels as high as 110 nGy h−1 were recorded inside the cave. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]