Estimation of the residential radon levels and the annual effective dose in dwellings of Shiraz, Iran, in 2015
Keywords:
Indoor radon, CR-39, Lung cancer, Shiraz, ICRPAbstract
Introduction: Radon is the second most important cause of lung cancer after smoking. Thus, the determination of indoor radon concentrations in dwellings and workplaces is an important public health concern. The purpose of this research was to measure the concentration of radon gas in residential homes and public places in the city of Shiraz and its relationship with the type and age of the buildings as well as the type of materials used to construct the building (brick, block). We also determined the radon dosages that occupants of the building would receive.
Methods: The present study is a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional research that was conducted on the building’s indoor air in the city of Shiraz in 2015. Using geographic information system (GIS) software and a spatial sampling cell with an area of 25 square kilometers, 200 points were selected. In this study, we used passive diffusive samplers as Solid State Nuclear Track Detector (SSNTD) CR-39 polycarbonate films for three months in the winter. Sampling was conducted in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s protocol. We determined the concentrations of radon gas at the time of sampling, and calibration factors were determined. The data were analyzed by IBM-SPSS, version 20, descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann–Whitney tests.
Results: This study showed that the average radon concentration was 57.6 ± 33.06 Bq/m3 in residential dwellings. The average effective dose was 1.45 mSv/y. The concentration of radon in 5.4% of the houses was found to be greater than 100 Bq/m3, which is above the level allowed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Conclusion: Since radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, it seems necessary to increase the public’s awareness of this issue and to take action to reduce radon in homes when the concentrations are above the WHO’s guideline.
References
Kant K, Upadhyay SB, Sharma GS, Chakarvarti SK. Measurement of inhalation dose due to radon and its
progeny in an oil refinery and its dwellings. Iran J Radiat Res. 2004; 1(4): 181-6.
UNSCAR. Sources, Effects And Risks Of Ionizing Radiation. 2015.
Mostafa AMA, Yamazawa H, Uosif MAM, Moriizumi J. Seasonal behavior of radon decay products in
indoor air and resulting radiation dose to human respiratory tract. Journal of Radiation Research and
Applied Sciences. 2015; 8(1): 142-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jrras.2014.12.007.
EPA Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes. Office of Radiation and Indoor Air United States
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC; 2003.
World Health Organization ROfE. Guidelines for indoor air quality: selected pollutants 2010.
Zeeb H, Shannoun F. WHO handbook in indoor radon: a public health perspective. Geneva, Switzerland:
World Health Organization (WHO); 2009.
Appleton JD. Radon in air and water, In: Selinus OA, BJ, Smedley, P, editor, Essentials of Medical
Geology. Netherlands: Springer. 2013; 239-77.
Pressyanov D, Dimitrov D, Dimitrova I. Energy-efficient reconstructions and indoor radon: the impact
assessed by CDs/DVDs. J Environ Radioact. 2015; 143: 76-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.02.016. PMID:
Casey JA, Ogburn, EL, Rasmussen SG, Irving JK, Pollak J, Locke PA, et al. Predictors of Indoor Radon
Concentrations in Pennsylvania, 1989-2013. Environ Health Perspect. 2015; 123: 1130–7. doi:
1289/ehp.1409014. PMID: 25856050, PMCID: PMC25856050.
Kendall GM, Smith TJ. Doses to organs and tissues from radon and its decay products. J Radiol Prot. 2002;
(4): 389. doi: 10.1088/0952-4746/22/4/304. PMID: 12546226.
William W, Nazaroff AVN. Radon and Its Decay Products in Indoor Air 1 ed: Wiley-Interscience; 1988.
Arvela H. Experiences in radon-safe building in Finland. Sci Total Environ. 2001; 272(1–3): 169-74. doi:
1016/S0048-9697(01)00688. PMID: 11379905.
Anastasiou T, Tsertos H, Christofides S, Christodoulides G. Indoor radon (222Rn) concentration
measurements in Cyprus using high-sensitivity portable detectors. J Environ Radioact. 2003; 68(2): 159-69.
doi: 10.1016/S0265-931X(03)00052-3. PMID: 12763326.
Marenny AM, Shinkarev SM, Penezev AV, Savkin MN, Hoshi M. Assessment of exposure to the
population of Russia from radon. International Congress Series. 2005; 1276: 352-3. doi:
1016/j.ics.2004.10.019. 15) Lehmann R, Kemski J, Siehl A, Stegemann R, Valdivia-Manchego M. The regional distribution of indoor
radon concentration in Germany. International Congress Series. 2002; 1225: 55-61. doi: 10.1016/S0531- 5131(01)00544-1.
Sainz C, Dinu A, Dicu T, Szacsvai K, Cosma C, Quindós LS. Comparative risk assessment of residential
radon exposures in two radon-prone areas, Stei (Romania) and Torrelodones (Spain). Sci Total Environ.
; 407(15): 4452-60. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.04.033. PMID: 19428051.
Nhan DD, Fernando CP, Thu Ha NT, Long NQ, Thuan DD, Fonseca H. Radon (222Rn) concentration in
indoor air near the coal mining area of Nui Beo, North of Vietnam. J Environ Radioact. 2012; 110: 98-103.
doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.02.008. PMID: 22445878.
Pereira CE, Vaidyan VK, Chougaonkar MP, Mayya YS, Sahoo BK, Jojo PJ. Indoor radon and thoron levels
in Neendakara and Chavara regions of southern coastal Kerala, India. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2012; 150(3):
-90. doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncr399. PMID: 22080470.
Celik N, Cevik U, Celik A, Kucukomeroglu B. Determination of indoor radon and soil radioactivity levels
in Giresun, Turkey. J Environ Radioact. 2008; 99(8): 1349-54. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2008.04.010. PMID:
Al-Saleh FS. Measurements of indoor gamma radiation and radon concentrations in dwellings of Riyadh
city, Saudi Arabia. Appl Radiat Isot. 2007; 65(7): 843-8. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2007.01.021. PMID:
Pirsaheb M, Najafi F, Khosravi T, Hemati L. A systematic review of radon investigations related to public
exposure in iran. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2013; 15(11): 10204. doi: 10.5812/ircmj.10204. PMID:
, PMCID: PMC3971772.
Hadad K, Mokhtari J. Indoor radon variations in central Iran and its geostatistical map. Atmospheric
Environment. 2015; 102: 220-7. doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.12.013.
Rezazadeh AN. Radon concentrations in public water supplies in Tehran and evaluation of radiation dose.
Iranian Journal of Radiation Research. 2005; 3(2): 79-83.
Hadad K, Hakimdavoud MR, Hashemi Tilehnoee M. Indoor radon survey in Shiraz-Iran using developed
passive measurement method. Iran J Radiat Res. 2011; 9(3): 175-82.
Hazar N, Karbakhsh M, Yunesian M, Nedjat S, Naddafi K. Perceived risk of exposure to indoor residential
radon and its relationship to willingness to test among health care providers in Tehran. J Environ Health Sci
Eng. 2014; 12(1): 118. doi: 10.1186/s40201-014-0118-2. PMID: 25426296, PMCID: PMC4243733.
Shojaee F, Aryamanesh M, Akashe B. Study of Active Faults by using Remote Sensing Data Processing
and Morphotectonics Indicators- A case Shiraz township. Journal of the Earth. 2012; 6(22): 133-44.
Iran SCo. Atlas of Selected Results of the 2011 National Population and Housing Census: Statistical Centre
of Iran; 2011. Available from: http://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/1/Iran/Atlas_Census_2011.pdf.
Miles JC, Appleton JD. Mapping variation in radon potential both between and within geological units. J
Radiol Prot. 2005; 25(3): 257-76. doi: 10.1088/0952-4746/25/3/003. PMID: 16286689.
Gillmore GK, Jabarivasal N. A reconnaissance study of radon concentrations in Hamadan city, Iran. Nat
Hazards Earth Syst Sci. 2010; 10(4): 857-63. doi: 10.5194/nhess-10-857-2010.
Rahimi A, Nikpour B. Measurement of Radon Concentration of Air Samples and Estimating Radiation
Dose from Radon in SARI Province. Universal Journal of Public Health. 2013; 1: 26-31. doi:
13189/ujph.2013.010203.
Yousefi Z, Naddafi K, Mohamadpur RA, Zazouli MA, Koushki Z. Indoor Radon Concentration in Gorgan
Dwellings Using CR-39 Detector. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. 2014; 24(113):
-10.
Agency USEP. Indoor Radon and Radon Decay Product Measurements in Homes. 1992.
Nations USU. Effects of Ionizing Radiation. New York 2000 p. 453-87.
Espinosa G, Gammage R. An Indoor Radon Survey in Three Different Climate Regions in Mexico, and the
Influence of Climate in the Obtained Values. Journal of Environmental Protection. 2011; 2(9): 1143-8. doi:
4236/jep.2011.29133.
Mowlavi AA, Fornasier MR, Binesh AR, Denaro MD. Indoor radon measurement and effective dose
assessment of 150 apartments in Mashhad, Iran. Environ Monit Assess. 2012; 184. doi: 10.1007/s10661- 011-2022. PMID: 21625925.
Kitto ME, Green JG. Mapping the indoor radon potential in New York at the township level. Atmospheric
Environment. 2008; 42(34): 8007-14. doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.06.039.
Askari HR, Rahimi M, Negarestani A. The investigation and measurement of the radon gas working level
inside buildings in Rafsanjan. Int J Low Radiat. 2008; 5(2): 98-103. doi: 10.1504/IJLR.2008.019914.
Petersen ML, Larsen T. Cost-benefit analyses of radon mitigation projects. J Environ Manage. 2006; 81(1):
-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.10.005. PMID: 16616412.
Haddadi G. Assessment of Radon level in dwellings of Tabriz. Journal of Fasa University of Medical
Sciences. 2011; 1(1): 13-9.
Denman AR, Groves-Kirkby NP, Groves-Kirkby CJ, Crockett RG, Phillips PS, Woolridge AC. Health
implications of radon distribution in living rooms and bedrooms in UK dwellings-a case study in
Northamptonshire. Environ Int. 2007; 33(8): 999-1011. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2007.01.011. PMID:
Rafique M, Rahman S, Rahman SU, Jabeen S, Shahzad MI, Rathore MH, et al. Indoor radon concentration
measurement in the dwellings of district Poonch (Azad Kashmir), Pakistan. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2010;
(2): 158-65. doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncp203. PMID: 19828719.
Henriksen T MH. Radiation and Health: Taylor & Francis; 2011.
Maged AF, Ismail LZ, Moussa NLA. Environmental risk assessment of radon from ceramic tiles.
Radioprotection. 2012; 47(3): 403-11. doi: 10.1051/radiopro/2012011.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 KNOWLEDGE KINGDOM PUBLISHING
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
