Radon measurements in work environments for underground water extraction in an area of central-north Italy with low potential risk: a concrete case of passive/active measurements in the workplace and active measurements in water by LSC.

The measurement of Radon gas is now a consolidated activity: the impetus given by the new regulations and technical guides, in addition to the awareness of the health risks linked to high exposures to the gas, have made it possible to increase controls even in geographical areas considered potentially at low risk, bringing out critical situations for workers and the population. This work presents the results of passive and active measurement campaigns of Radon gas in an area of Emilia Romagna in workplaces responsible for the extraction of water from underground and for its distribution.  Monitoring carried out in groundwater collection sites such as sources and outlets in the mid-Apennine area has instead highlighted the presence of significant concentrations of Radon which will be higher than the reference level, reaching 46,000 Bq/m3 in some cases. Radon measurements were followed in the distributed waters using Liquid Scintillation Counting to complete the passive measurements: the results show a shallow level of radon in the drinking water, minus the 30 Bq/lt.The action remediation has permitted the Radon concentration reduction in the workplace with a gas level very close to the parametric value of Radon, 300 Bq/m3.