Abstract
Long-term exposure to high radon concentration exerts pathological effects and elicits changes in respiratory function, increasing an individual’s risk of developing lung cancer. In health risk assessment of indoor radon, consideration of long-term exposure thereto is necessary to identify a relationship between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer. However, measuring long-term indoor radon concentration can be difficult, and a statistical model for predicting mean annual indoor radon concentrations may be readily applicable. We investigated the predictability of mean annual radon concentrations using national data on indoor radon concentrations throughout the spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons in Korea. Indoor radon concentrations in Korea were highest in the winter and lowest in the summer. We derived seasonal correction and seasonal adjustment factors for each season based on the method proposed by previous study. However, these factors may not be readily applicable unless measured in a specific season. In this paper, we separate seasonal correction factors for each month of the year (new correction factors) based on correlations between indoor radon and meteorological factors according to housing type. To evaluate the correction factors, we assessed differences between estimated and measured mean annual radon concentrations. Roughly 97% of the estimated values were within ±40 Bq/m3 of actual measured values in detached houses, and roughly 85–87% of the estimated values were within ±40 Bq/m3 of the measured values in other residences. In most cases, the seasonal correction factors and the new correction factors had slightly better agreement than the seasonal adjustment factor. For predicting mean annual radon concentrations, the seasonal correction factors or seasonal adjustment factors can be of use when actual measurements of indoor radon concentrations for a specific season are available. Otherwise, the new correction factors may be more readily applicable.
Highlights
Radon is a major component of natural radiation that causes lung cancer, the second leading cause after smoking [1]
The predicted mean annual radon concentration is calculated by multiplying the concentration To further correlations between radon factors and meteorological observed duringexplore the month j of monitoring by indoor the correction f j as follows: factors other than outdoor temperature, we considered mean monthly wind speed, which was shown to be inversely correlated with indoor radon from the results research by Miles [18]
We investigated the predictability of mean annual radon concentrations based on data from surveys by Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) and National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER)
Summary
Radon is a major component of natural radiation that causes lung cancer, the second leading cause after smoking [1]. Radon in soil, building materials, outdoor air, and underground water enters indoors via various transfer mechanisms, and currently, many people spend most of their time in an indoor environment. It is important to assess the health effects stemming from exposure to radon indoors. The health risk associated with exposure to radon indoors depends on the concentration. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2251; doi:10.3390/ijerph15102251 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
