Standardization of indoor radon measurements based on rational criterion for conformity assessment

Abstract

Significant temporal variations in radon are observed in any buildings, including unoccupied buildings with limited ventilation. This fact causes serious difficulties in radiation monitoring to assess the compliance of premises with the requirements of the normative, which limits the annual average level of radon in buildings. Therefore, neither at the national nor at the international level has yet been solved the problem of standardizing the indoor radon measurement if the test duration is less than a year. An analysis of approaches to radon measurement, including an assessment of the effectiveness of regulation, shows very significant differences between practices established in different countries. For example, in Russia, rapid (no more than 20 min) measurements are mainly used and mitigation measures to protect existing buildings from radon are practically not carried out. In European countries, mainly long-term (at least two months) measurements are used, while mitigation measures are still relatively rare, with the exception of the UK and Sweden. In the USA, short-term (2–7 days) measurements are widely used, which are not only carried out, but also paid for by residents themselves, including mitigation measures. However, despite the established approaches to indoor radon monitoring in Russia and the USA, there is a persistent distrust among specialists in the results of shortterm and, especially, rapid measurements. In this regard, a compromise approach is proposed to standardize radon measurements based on a rational criterion by applying fundamental ISO/IEC concepts such as “measurement uncertainty” and “conformity assessment”. The rational criterion for conformity assessment allows using measurements of different durations, providing a given reliability when making a decision. It also proposes a rationale for optimizing indoor radon monitoring through the participation of not only professional inspectors, but also the population itself due to the possibility of introducing simple methods and inexpensive radon devices within the rational criterion.