High background radiation areas: the case of Villar de la Yegua village (Spain).

The starting point of the Spanish experience in the study of High Background Radiation Areas is the development of a nationwide indoor radon survey carried out in 1988. This campaign, belonging to the first Spanish Radon Framework, consisted of approximately 2000 indoor radon measurements which represented a valuable basis to face rigorously the radon issue in Spain. Together but indepently from this survey, since 1991 the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council, the National Uranium Company and several Universities have developed the so-called MARNA project with the aim of estimating potential radon emission from external gamma dose rates, radium concentrations in soil and geological parameters. During the last decade, several regional surveys have also been conducted to determine exposure to natural sources of radiation in different highly populated background radiation areas. Among them, the surroundings of the village of Villar de la Yegua Town, located in the western province of Salamanca, is the most important area of Spain from a radiological point of view, with the highest indoor radon concentrations, of up to 15,000 Bq m(-3) being found there. Until now, the main result of the study in this area showed a geometric mean radon concentration of 818 Bq m(-3), which is 18 times higher than the national average. In this article, the results of the last survey, carried out in Villar de la Yegua during 2004 are summarised. A geometric mean radon concentration of 1356 Bq m(-3) was found. Dose estimation coming from radon inhalation is also shown.