British Cave Science monitors radon levels in Poole's Cavern

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which is present in the outside atmosphere and commonly has higher concentrations in business premises, homes and caves.

The concentration of radon in the Poole’s Cavern air is continuously monitored, and the concentrations are used to calculate the radiation dose accrued by anyone entering the cave.

Professor John Gunn said: “The sources of the radon are still not fully understood and one question is whether water entering the cave degasses, releasing radon gas into the cave air, or whether the water dissolves radon and takes it out of the cave.”

Last month scientists from the British Cave Science Centre installed new probs to test the radon levels of the water.

Professor Gunn said: “The plan is to leave one monitor at the upstream end of the cave where the River Wye enters and to move the other to the downstream end, adjacent to the stream sink.

“By comparing data from the two monitors, it will be possible to quantify how much radon the water is gaining or losing as it flows through the cave.”

This unique project based at Pooles Cavern aims to promote UK cave science by offering an open access cave research facility for the science community.

Alongside providing a safe working environment, the cave science centre already has a wide variety of baseline climate monitoring, from which high-resolution data is being produced.

This data is available to anyone who wishes to use it, promoting the development of high quality science projects backed by years of monitoring data.​

The British Cave Science Centre say the cavern managers are ‘really supportive of the science which is being done’ as it helps their guides educate the public about how the cave formed and the impact tourists have on the cave.

The project is funded jointly by two charities, The British Cave Research Association and the Buxton Civic Association who own and manage Pooles Cavern.

These two organisations are committed to supporting the project and John said: “With their continued support we hope the centre will be able to support a wide range of cave science projects.”