Assessment of Indoor Radon Doses Received by the Students and Staff in Schools in some Towns in Sudan

An indoor radon survey has been carried out in 82 schools situated in four towns in the Sudan, namely Omdurman, Madeni, Sinnar, and Al Hosh, by using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors SSNTDs. A total of 388 detectors were installed in the selected schools, 349 were collected and 39 were lost. The detectors were placed in the indoor environment of the selected schools for a period of 120 days. The main objective of this study was to assess the health hazard due to the indoor radon inside these schools. The radon concentration levels varied from 26 to 124 Bqm-3, with an average value of 59 7 Bqm-3. Present indoor radon concentration values for the selected schools are far below than the radon action level (200- 600) Bq. m-3 as recommended by ICRP, higher than the worldwide, population weighted, average radon of 40 Bq. m-3 as reported by UNSCEAR. The mean annual radon effective dose equivalent was estimated to be 0.56 0.09 mSv. y-1, which is lower than the action level recommended by the ICRP of 310 mSv. y -1, than the normal background level of 1.1 mSv. y -1, as quoted by UNSCEAR.