Jolanta Lebecka, Krystian Skubacz, Stanisław Chałupnik, Bogusław Michalik
Central Mining Institute, Plac Gwarków 1, Katowice, Poland
In this paper the basic principles and legal rules of the systematic monitoring of radiation exposure in
Polish coal mines are presented.
According to the legal acts the following values shall be monitored: the concentration of short-lived
radon decay products in mine atmosphere, the gamma-radiation dose rate, the concentration of 226Ra
and 228Ra isotopes in mine waters, the concentration of natural radionuclides in sediments
that precipitate from waters of higher radium concentration and individual doses. For the purpose
of evaluation of radiation hazard of miners new instrumentation and methods of measurements have
been developed. Several intercomparisons with participation of the best laboratories have been carried
out to verify the efficiency of the developed methods. Also a comparison between legal acts of radiological
protection in mines in Poland and in other countries has been presented with special emphasis on the
situation in EEC countries.