Investigating radon gas levels in the basement of the new central teaching facility thesis.

Abstract

Man is by the very nature of his environment exposed to varying amounts of radiation with or without his consent and it is encountered in our everyday activities. Ionizing radiations constitute Radon gas which by definition is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that has no smell, color or taste and therefore undetectable by human senses hence for this reason it can only be detected by special detectors. Currently in Uganda and worldwide, there are many non-smokers who have been diagnosed with Lung cancer yet they have never smoked their whole entire life and this tortures them mentally because they don’t smoke which pushed me to find out the other sources of Lung cancer that people are very ignorant about and being underestimated yet adversely affects to human life. To investigate if the radon gas levels are within the set - safety limits, metal canisters comprising of activated charcoal that has a high affinity for gases were placed in the measurement location for about 8 hours and later taken to the laboratory for analysis. Radon concentrations were in the range of 12±2 Bq/m^3 to 40±4 Bq/m^3 with an average of 25±3 Bq/m^3. which are below the World Health Organization (WHO) action level below 100 Bq/m^3. In conclusion, the radon levels are not detrimental to the health of the students and there is a slim risk to suffering from lung cancer since the levels are with in safety limits.