Life Time Cancer Risk Evaluation Due to Inhalation of Radon Gas in Dwellings of Al-Diwaniyah Governorate, Iraq

M. Sh. Aswood,Sh. F. Alhous,S. A. Abdulridha

doi:10.46488/nept.2022.v21i01.040

Abstract

Radon is a radioactive natural gas that tends to concentrate in indoor homes and has major health consequences, the most serious of which is the ability to cause lung cancer. This research involves measuring indoor radon concentrations in different types of homes (non-smokers and smokers) in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq, as well as assessing radon concentrations in cigarette samples acquired from Iraqi markets. nuclear track detectors were used to measure radiological parameters to determine annual effective dose levels and the associated cancer risk (CR-39). The average indoor radon concentrations, annual effective dose, and increased cancer risk attributable to the inhalation of indoor radon were 22.93 ± 3.67 Bq.m-3, 0.58 ± 0.08 mSv.y-1 and 2.2 ×10-3 ± 0.35 respectively, for non-smokers home. For smokers’ home, these parameters were 29.77 ± 5.24 Bq.m-3, 0.75 ± 0.12 mSv.y-1, and 2.89 ×10-3±0.50, respectively. The value of radon gas in cigarette samples ranged from 24.16 ± 2.55 to 33.91 ± 5.13 Bq.m-3. The obtained results have been compared with limits recommended by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and found to be within allowed limits.

Highlights

IntroductionHumans are exposed to large levels of internal and external radiation on a daily basis without even realizing it
Inside the dwellings of Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq, in spite of Fig. 3 showed that the high the indoor radon values, the annual effective dose and the excess lifetime cancer risk in the dwellings of smokers compared to non-smokers, but the results showed that all these values were within the internationally allowable limits
The findings show that non-smokers’ indoor radon concentrations (CRn), annual effective dose (AED), and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) are all lower than smokers’ homes

Summary

Introduction

Humans are exposed to large levels of internal and external radiation on a daily basis without even realizing it. According to the National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), natural radiation in the environment is the major source of radiation exposure One of these radiation sources is radon, a colorless, odorless gas with high toxicity and three naturally occurring isotopes: 222Rn, 219Rn, and 220Rn. Radon-222 occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through which thorium and uranium slowly decay into lead and various other short-lived radioactive elements. Radon normally decays to short-lived nuclides called radon daughters, producing harmful particles, including alpha particles, as well as beta and gamma rays Once these particles enter the body and destroy most of the living cells passing through them. Together with its mainly short-lived daughters, radon’s contribution to the world annual dose from background radiation is on the level of 1.2 mSv, representing roughly 50% of the overall dose (UNSCEAR 1988)

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