ABSTRACT
This work aims to perform a radiological characterization of the occupational exposure in 16 Portuguese thermal establishments based on indoor radon dosimetry. The effective doses received by workers due to radon inhalation were estimated and external gamma dose rates were measured through continuous periods. The dose assessment was estimated based on a deterministic approach while radon risk for indoor exposure was assessed on a probabilistic basis. The total effective dose ranged between 4 and 31 mSv/y. As expected, the results indicate that radon inhalation presents higher risk than gamma radiation exposure and, therefore, inhalation is considered as the main exposure pathway. In particular, two thermal establishments, TE5 and TE14, present considerable higher risk: 10−2 and 10−3, respectively. For external exposure, all thermal establishments present a risk with a magnitude of 10−6. From the obtained results, it is possible to identify the situations with higher risk where an urgent action must be addressed.
