LOG-NORMALITY OF INDOOR RADON DATA IN THE WALLOON REGION OF BELGIUM

The deviations of the distribution of Belgian indoor radon data from the log-normal trend are examined. Simulated data are generated to provide a theoretical frame for understanding these deviations. It is shown that the 3-component structure of indoor radon (radon from outdoor air, building materials and subsoil) generates deviations in the low- and high-concentration tails, but this low-C trend can be almost completely compensated by the effect of measurement uncertainties and by possible small errors in background subtraction. The predicted low-C and high-C deviations are well observed in the Belgian data, when considering the global distribution of all data. The agreement with the log-normal model is improved when considering data organised in homogeneous geological groups. As the deviation from log-normality is often due to the low-C tail for which there is no interest, it is proposed to use the log-normal fit limited to the high-C half of the distribution. With this prescription, the vast majority of the geological groups of data are compatible with the log-normal model, the remaining deviations being mostly due to a few outliers, and rarely to a “fat tail”. With very few exceptions, the log-normal modelling of the high-concentration part of indoor radon data is expected to give reasonable results, provided that the data are organised in homogeneous geological groups.

CINELLI Giorgia;  TONDEUR François; 

2015-03-25

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

JRC92603

0265-931X,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC92603,   

10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.02.014,