PubMed · 5187215
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P W Krey. 1967-07-01. High altitude balloon sampling program. HASL-182.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5187215/
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Building regulations in the UK have since 1992 required that radon-proof membranes be installed in new domestic properties to protect residents against the adverse effects of radon. This study compares the cost-effectiveness of the current regulatory regime with an alternative that would entail new properties being tested for radon after construction, and being remediated if necessary. The alternative regime is found to be more cost-effective for a sample of properties in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, UK. For this regime, the central estimate of cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained, the measure of cost-effectiveness used, is 2869 pounds compared to 6182 pounds for installing membranes, results suggesting a case for re-examining the current regulations on radon protection in new properties. Pilot studies will, however, be needed to consider how different means of protecting residents of new properties against radon might operate in practice and to provide improved evidence on their relative cost-effectiveness.
In 1999 and 2002, the EURADOS Working Group on Environmental Monitoring organised two European intercomparison exercises of national network systems used to provide early warning in case of a nuclear accident. In total, 12 European countries, represented by more than 40 scientists, participated in these two intercomparisons with more than 35 different dose rate detectors. In addition, an in situ gamma spectrometry intercomparison was performed by a group of European scientists during the 2002 exercise. Results of these spectrometry measurements will be reported elsewhere. This report summarises the results of the second intercomparison, performed in 2002, at the environmental dosimetry facilities of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany. The unique combination of the ultra-low background Underground Laboratory (UDO) and two free-field sites (a floating platform on a lake showing an almost pure cosmic radiation field and a free-field gamma ray irradiation facility) provide the particular opportunity to precisely quantify the inherent background of the detectors and to calibrate them almost free of any background and traceable to PTB's primary standards. In addition, the intercomparison comprised investigations on the energy and dose rate dependence of the detectors' response to gamma radiation as well as on the response to cosmic radiation. Finally, the sensitivity of the detector systems to small dose rate variations, similar to that caused by a passing overhead radioactive plume, was studied under realistic free-field conditions. Following the Council Directive 96/29/EURATOM, the participants of the 2002 intercomparison were asked to report their results in terms of the operational quantity ambient dose equivalent, H(*)(10). Although the verification of the individual calibrations showed smaller discrepancies than those in the 1999 intercomparison, in a few cases, these discrepancies would be still unacceptably high in the case of a real emergency situation as demonstrated by the plume results. This shows the clear need for further efforts towards a European harmonisation in environmental dosimetry. For this purpose, a further intercomparison shall be held at the PTB in 2006, especially with the participation of new members of the European Union.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas, high levels of which are associated with geological formations such as those found in Northamptonshire and North Oxfordshire in the UK. The UK's National Radiological Protection Board have designated both districts as radon Affected Areas. Radiation levels due to radon, therefore, exceed 200 Bq m(-3), the UK's domestic Action Level, in over one percent of domestic properties. Because of radon's radioactivity, exposure to the gas can potentially cause lung cancer, and has been linked to some 2000 deaths a year in the UK. Consequently, when radiation levels exceed the Action Level, remediation against radon's effects is recommended to householders. This study examines the cost-effectiveness of remediation measures in Northamptonshire and North Oxfordshire by estimating cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained in four Primary Care Trusts, organisations that play a key public health policy role in the UK's National Health Service. The study is the first to apply this approach to estimating the cost-effectiveness of radon remediation programmes. Central estimates of cost per quality-adjusted life-year in the four Primary Care Trusts range from 6143pounds to 10323pounds. These values, when assessed against generally accepted criteria, suggest the remediation programmes in the trusts were cost-effective. Policy suggestions based on the estimates, and designed to improve cost-effectiveness further, are proposed for the four Primary Care Trusts and the UK's National Health Service.