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PubMedDate not supplied

Static and push-pull methods using radon-222 to characterize dense nonaqueous phase liquid saturations.

Naturally occurring radon in ground water can potentially be used as an in situ partitioning tracer to characterize dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) saturations. The static method involves comparing radon concentrations in water samples from DNAPL-contaminated and noncontaminated portions of an aquifer, while the push-pull method involves the injection (push) and extraction (pull) of a radon-free test solution from a single well. In the presence of DNAPL, radon concentrations during the pull phase are retarded, with retardation manifested in greater dispersion of radon concentrations relative to a conservative tracer. The utility of these methods was investigated in the laboratory using a physical aquifer model (PAM). Static and push-pull tests were performed before and after contamination of the PAM sediment pack with trichloroethene (TCE), and after alcohol cosolvent flushing and pump-and-treat remediation. Numerical simulations were used to estimate the retardation factor for radon in push-pull tests. Radon partitioning was observed in static and push-pull tests conducted after TCE contamination. Calculated TCE saturations ranged up to 1.4% (static test) and 14.1% (push-pull test). Post-remediation tests showed decreases in TCE saturations. The results show that radon is sensitive to changes in DNAPL saturation in space and time. However, the methods are sensitive to DNAPL saturation heterogeneity, test location, sample size, and test design. The influence of these factors on test results, as well as the apparent overestimation of the retardation factor in push-pull tests, warrant further investigation.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed2002

A new method specifically designed to expose cells isolated in vitro to radon and its decay products.

A system was set up to provide direct exposure of cells cultured in vitro to radon and its decay products. Radon gas emanating from a uranium source was introduced at a measured concentration in a closed 10-m(3) exposure chamber. Cells were cultured on the microporous membrane of an insert that was floating over the culture medium in a six-well cluster plate. Plates with cells were placed in an open thermoregulated bath within the chamber. Under these conditions, cells were irradiated by direct deposition of radon and radon decay products. During exposure, all parameters, including radon gas concentrations, decay product activities, and potential alpha-particle energy concentrations, were determined by periodic air-grab samplings inside the chamber. The energy spectrum of deposited decay products was characterized. An estimation of alpha-particle flux density on the area containing cells was performed using CR-39 detector films that were exposed in cell-free wells during the cell exposure. The number of alpha-particle traversals per cell was deduced both from the mean number of CR-39 tracks per surface unit and from measurements of entire cells or nuclear surfaces. This paper describes the design of experiment, the dosimetry of radon and radon decay product, and the procedures for aerosol measurements. Our preliminary data show the usefulness of the in vitro cell culture approach to the study of the early cellular effects of radon and its decay products.

Alpha Particles↗
PubMed1999

Residential radon exposure and risk of lung cancer in Missouri.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated residential radon exposure and lung cancer risk, using both standard radon dosimetry and a new radon monitoring technology that, evidence suggests, is a better measure of cumulative radon exposure. METHODS: Missouri women (aged 30 to 84 years) newly diagnosed with primary lung cancer during the period January 1, 1993, to January 31, 1994, were invited to participate in this population-based case-control study. Both indoor air radon detectors and CR-39 alpha-particle detectors (surface monitors) were used. RESULTS: When surface monitors were used, a significant trend in lung cancer odds ratios was observed for 20-year time-weighted-average radon concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: When surface monitors were used, but not when standard radon dosimetry was used, a significant lung cancer risk was found for radon concentrations at and above the action level for mitigation of houses currently used in the United States (148 Bqm-3). The risk was below the action level used in Canada (750 Bqm-3) and many European countries (200-400 Bqm-3).

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Radon in homes--a possible cause of lung cancer.

An earlier case-referent study [Scand j work environ & health 5 (1979) 10-15] has indicated a possible relationship between lung cancer and exposure to radon and radon daughters in dwellings. Indoor radon concentrations seem to depend on both building material and leakage of radon from the ground. This new study, in a rural area, is a further attempt to elucidate the etiology of lung cancer, taking into consideration type of house and ground conditions, as well as smoking habits. Although the choice of a rural study population helped to eliminate various confounding exposures in the urban environment, it limited the size of the study because of the rareness of lung cancer in rural populations. Long-term residents, 30 years or more in the same houses, were studied, and again an association was found between lung cancer and estimated exposure to radon and radon daughters in homes. The data also seem to indicate the possibility of a multiplicative effect between smoking and exposure to radon and radon daughters in homes, but there was also some confounding between these factors in the data.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Radon 222 in drinking water from Jelenia Gora area].

In the last decade one can observe an increasing interest in the study of 222Rn levels in water samples. In Poland, radon concentration is measured continuously and routinely only in mineral and medical waters from springs located in the area of health resorts in the Sudety Mountains. The reason for these studies is the fact that waters present in this area have a high radon concentration. Radon--222 concentration in surface water, wells water and tap water in Jelenia Góra has been quantitative determined. The measurements were performed using the alpha liquid scintillation counting method. "Grabarów", the main waterworks in Jelenia Góra is supplied with the mixed water consisting from the surface water (river Bóbr), which main characteristic is low radon concentration (below 11 Bq/l), and from ground water with the radon concentration from 179.6 Bq/l to 289.0 Bq/l in it. Also, waterworks "Ceglana", "Pod Karpaczem", "Sniezne Kotły" is supplied with the ground water have a high radon concentration: from 93.2 Bq/l to 216.4 Bq/l. The next waterworks: "Podgórzyn", "Leśniczówka", "Kamienna Wieza", "Górzyniec" and "Centrum-Jelchem" is supplied with the surface water in which the radon concentration is low: from 1.1 Bq/l to 7.5 Bq/l. The annual effective dose to an individual from an intake of radon-222 via ingestion of drinking water is calculated by the Crawford-Brown's biokinetic model. In the present study it was found to be about 0.9 mSv/y (222Rn concentration level in drinking waters about 200 Bq/l).

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed2002

[The precautionary principle applied to lung cancer risk caused by residential radon].

Residential radon seems to represent a major health hazard. The studies, which investigate the pulmonary risk of cancer caused by radon, are of different nature and their results are divergent. Thus, there persist scientific uncertainties concerning the real size of this risk. The application of the precautionary principle is based on an analysis of these uncertainties. Studies on miners, studies concerning residential radon (at individual and ecological level), as well as experimental data allow for the organisation of the uncertainty of each one of these specific approaches taking into account their proper limitations. The first risk that is linked to radon is the risk of pulmonary cancer. Miner occupational exposure studies appear compatible with the results of case-control studies concerning residential radon. However, the case-control studies, where the risk appears more present, are contradicted by ecological studies, often not very convincing about the existence of a risk. The case-control studies have an intrinsic advantage over the ecological studies because they limit the classification errors by the individualization of the relation-exposure effect. In addition, the experimental data are not in contradiction with the existence of effects for very small exposures. Consequently, the inherent scientific uncertainties of the totality of these data, can be classified and permit the application of the precautionary principle in a better proportioned way. The utilisation of the precautionary principle implies the necessity to limit, as far as possible, the exposure to residential radon. Precautionary principle is based on the debated hypothesis of no threshold linear relation between radon exposition and health consequences. This relation has been established on professional and residential exposures. The implementation of this epidemiological model shows the "residential radon" risk as the second cause of pulmonary cancer and responsible of about 10% of these specific cancers.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Increasing the radon concentration in natural water without the use of radium preparations].

The method of increasing radon concentrations in natural radon water without radon generators is based on radon redistribution between various water volumes, water and air. Radon is extracted from hot radon water with subsequent solution in cold radon water. This method enables the specialists to increase radon concentrations 2-3-fold using a simple enriching unit.

Air↗
PubMed1996

Characterization of multilocus lesions in human cells exposed to X radiation and radon.

Human TK6 lymphoblasts were exposed to X radiation or radon, and thymidine kinase negative (TK-/-) mutants were selected, isolated and harvested for analysis of structural changes in the TK gene. A large majority (82%) of the radon-induced mutants, 74% of the X-radiation-induced mutants and 45% of the spontaneous mutants lost the entire active TK allele. To analyze these mutants further we measured the loss of heterozygosity at several loci neighboring the TK locus on chromosome 17q. A greater proportion (61%) of the radon-induced mutants than X-radiation-induced or spontaneous mutants harbored the smaller lesions involving the TK allele alone or extending from the TK locus to one or both of the closest neighboring sequences tested. Further, 21% of the X-radiation-induced mutants but only 5% of the radon-induced mutants lost heterozygosity at the col1A1 locus, 31 Mb from the TK gene. These results are in agreement with a recent analysis of radon- and X-radiation-induced lesions inactivating the HPRT gene of TK6 cells, in which we reported that a lower percentage of radon- than X-radiation-induced mutants showed lesions extending to markers 800 kb or more from the HPRT gene on the X chromosome (Bao et al., Mutat. Res. 326, 1-13, 1995). In the present study, we observed that the percentage of slowly growing and very slowly growing TK-/- mutants was greater after treatment with radon than after treatment with X radiation, regardless of the type of lesion present. It is possible, therefore, that the radon-induced lesions are complex and/or less easily repaired, leading to slow growth in a large proportion of the surviving mutant cells.

B-Lymphocytes↗
PubMed2001

Methods for measuring diffusion coefficients of radon in building materials.

Two methods for determining the Rn-222 diffusion coefficient in concrete are presented. Experimentally, the flush and adsorption technique to measure radon release rates underlines both methods. Theoretically, the first method was developed for samples of cubical geometry. The radon diffusion equation was solved for boundary conditions imposing zero flux conditions successively on each side. In practice, a 100% effective covering would ensure this condition to be satisfied. The diffusion coefficient is then determined by comparing the computed and respectively measured normalized ratios of the radon release rates with respect to the rate corresponding to the open-boundaries (uncovered) specimen. As in practice, none of the investigated coverings showed to be effective in reducing radon exhalation, indicating that radon-tight sealing of surfaces is far from trivial, no clear conclusions could be drawn with respect to the diffusion coefficient. The second method can be applied to specimens that are first reshaped into hollow cylinders. A one-dimensional situation can be inforced by requiring that the flux vanishes at the two ends of the hollow cylinder. The theoretical and experimental ratios are again compared. In practice, the radon flux originates from a radon source enclosed inside the hollow cylinder, the effectiveness of the sealing being previously tested on an aluminum dummy of similar dimensions. The radon bulk diffusion coefficient for the used concrete sample resulted in a value of D = (4.6 +/- 0.4) x 10(-6) cm2 s(-1).

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Dependence of indoor radon concentration on the year of house construction.

The dependence of indoor radon concentration on the year of house construction was studied using the results of two nationwide indoor radon surveys in Japan. The data of radon concentration in the surveys were classified into structure type as well as year of construction to obtain the current radon concentration for each structure type as a function of year of construction. The indoor radon concentration in wooden houses was found to be relatively constant with year of house construction until 1960, and then decreased, whereas the radon concentration in concrete houses increased sharply in houses constructed after 1970. The concentration in concrete houses built before 1975 was almost the same as that in contemporary wooden houses. However, the concentration in concrete houses built at present was about two times higher than that in wooden houses. The time trends found for wooden and concrete houses in the first nationwide indoor radon survey were confirmed by the second nationwide survey. In addition, these same time trends were mostly observed in the data classified into 7 districts in Japan. The increase of indoor radon concentration in concrete houses provides relatively high dose, and this increasing trend seems to continue, judging from the results of two nationwide surveys.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2002

Dosimetric assessment of radon in a vegetable system.

An alpha-dose calculation due to radon uptake in anthers of Tradescantia, clone 4430, has been performed. Probability distribution density of the dose in the pollen mother cells was calculated by means of a model that simulates the interaction of separate alpha-particles with these cells. It is shown that alpha-radiation from either radon or its decay products surrounding the buds does not reach pollen mother cells because of the short-range alpha-particles. However, it is suggested that radon diffuses through the gap structure of the bud to the anther from which a radon-gas adsorption process takes place. Absorbed-dose calculations in the anther are discussed as well as their relationship to the experimental results of micronucleus induction in pollen mother cells. The radon concentration interval used (0.85 kBq m(-3)-98.16 kBq m(-3)) is equivalent to the exposure to an average environmental radon concentration (40 Bq m(-3)) for 2.3 months or 22.1 years, respectively. The lowest radon concentration to induce micronuclei was 12.1 kBq m(-3), which is 15 times in excess of that adopted for old buildings in Canada.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2006

Radon-thoron discriminative measurements in Gansu Province, China, and their implication for dose estimates.

Indoor radon measurements were carried out in cave dwellings of the Chinese loess plateau in Gansu province, where previously the Laboratory of Industrial Hygiene (LIH), China, and the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) had conducted an international collaborative epidemiological study. The LIH-NCI study showed an increased lung cancer risk due to high residential radon levels, and estimated the excess odds ratio at 100 Bq/m3 to be 0.19 (Wang et al., 2002). The present study used two types of newly developed passive monitors: One is a discriminative monitor for radon and thoron; the other is a selective monitor for thoron decay products. The arithmetic mean concentrations of indoor radon and thoron were 91 and 351 Bq/m3, respectively. As reported by our previous study in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces (Tokonami et al., 2004), the presence of high thoron concentration was confirmed and thoron was predominant over radon in the cave dwellings. However, the mean equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration (EETC) was found to be much lower than expected when assuming the equilibrium factor of 0.1 provided by the UNSCEAR (2000) report. The effective dose by radon and thoron decay products was estimated to be 3.08 mSv/yr. It was significantly lower than the dose of 8.22 mSv/yr estimated from the measurements that did not take into consideration any discrimination between radon and thoron. Excess relative risk of lung cancer per sievert may be much higher than the risk estimated from the LIH-NCI study, considering that discriminative measurements were not used in their study.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
PubMed2004

High radon exposure in a Brazilian underground coal mine.

The main source of radiation exposure in most underground mining operations is radon and radon decay products. The situation of radon exposure in underground mining in Brazil is still unknown, since there has been no national regulation regarding this exposure. A preliminary radiological survey in nonuranium mines in Brazil indicated that an underground coal mine in the south of Brazil had high radon concentration and needed to be better evaluated. This paper intends to present an assessment of radon and radon decay product exposure in the underground environment of this coal mining industry and to estimate the annual exposure to the workers. As a product of this assessment, it was found that average radon concentrations at all sampling campaign and excavation sites were above the action level range for workplaces of 500-1500 Bq m(-3) recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection--ICRP 65. The average effective dose estimated for the workers was almost 30 times higher than the world average dose for coal miners.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2002

Experimental determination of the absorption rate of unattached radon progeny from respiratory tract to blood.

An exposure methodology was developed for the determination of the absorption rate of unattached radon progeny deposited in the human respiratory tract to blood. Twenty-one volunteers were exposed in a radon chamber during well-controlled aerosol and radon progeny conditions, with predominantly unattached radon daughters. Special efforts were made to restrict the dose to the volunteers to an absolute maximum of 0.08 mSv. Measurements of radon gas and radon progeny in blood samples of these volunteers indicated absorption half times of 20 min to 60 min. Former determinations, mainly performed with much larger aerosol particles of diameters between 100 nm and 1,000 nm, implied absorption half times around 10 h. This indicates that the absorption of radon decay products from ciliated airways into blood is dependent upon particle size and particle composition.

Absorption↗
PubMed2003

Bio-kinetics of radon ingested from drinking water.

Previous studies have identified the stomach as the most significant organ for the dose from ingested radon. An important factor in dosimetric modelling is the rate of radon loss from the stomach. In the present study, two subjects who ingested radon-rich water were measured using a NaI(Tl) detector fixed over the stomach. The counting rates for 214Pb and 214Bi peak regions were plotted as a function of time after ingestion. These data were interpreted using a compartment model that expressed biokinetics of radon and its progeny. The model was fitted to the experimental data by changing biokinetic parameters such as the rate of radon loss from the stomach. Previous models for dosimetric purposes often assumed that the half-time for radon loss from the stomach is below 20 min. The present results, however, suggest that a part of radon stayed longer in the stomach than expected in the previous models.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2000

Theoretical study of the relation between radon and its long-lived progeny in a room.

We present a theoretical study of the complex relation between radon and its long-lived progeny implanted in glass surfaces. The well known (extended) Jacobi room model, which is normally used to describe radon and its progeny in a room, was transformed into a two-parameter model revealing a linear correlation between long term radon exposure and surface activity due to implanted radon decay products. Furthermore, this new approach made integration into a Monte Carlo simulation possible so that the large variation of different room model parameters could be taken into account. This allowed the calculation of a probability distribution for radon exposure from the measurement of the implanted 210Po activity. The availability of a 95% confidence interval for the radon exposure is valuable in the application of retrospective radon assessment in epidemiological studies.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1995

Errors in exposure assessment, statistical power and the interpretation of residential radon studies.

To date, epidemiological studies of risk from residential radon have not convincingly demonstrated an association with lung cancer. These case-control studies, however, have inherent limitations due to errors in estimates of exposure to indoor radon. These errors take on special significance because the level of residential risk predicted from studies of underground miners is relatively low and possibly at the limit detectable by current epidemiological methods. To illustrate the problem caused by errors in exposure assessment, a series of case-control studies were simulated and resulting dose-response relationships evaluated. For each of four assumed error distributions for exposure to radon progeny, 10 indoor radon studies of 700 cases and 700 controls were generated randomly from a population with a risk of radon-induced lung cancer based on extrapolations from studies of underground miners. When exposures were assumed as known without error, 6 of 10 studies failed to find a significant dose response, in accord with the theoretical power of the study of 0.47. For simulations in which exposures were measured with error, the situation was worse, as the power of the study was reduced further and it was even less likely that a single study would result in a significant finding. For each error scenario, combining data from the 10 simulated studies did result in a significant dose response. However, the pooled results are somewhat misleading, because the effects of mobility, missing radon measurements, residential occupancy and potential confounding variables such as cigarette smoking were not taken into account. Empirical estimates of power were computed using 1,000 simulated case-control studies. When mobility and missing radon measurements in prior homes were incorporated into the design, the power of the study decreased, reducing the chance of detecting a significant effect of exposure. Enlarging study size to 2,000 cases and 2,000 controls increased the power of the study to 0.90 when exposure error was absent and subjects lived in one home only, but power was below 0.40 under realistic conditions for exposure error and mobility. When studies were generated under an assumption that exposure does not increase risk, up to 15% of simulated studies with 700 cases and 700 controls resulted in an estimated dose-response parameter in excess of the dose response from studies of miners. With increasing mobility and exposure error, it became virtually impossible to distinguish between the distributions of risk estimates from simulated studies based on an underlying excess relative risk of 0.015/working level month from estimates based on no risk from exposure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1991

Health effects of radon exposure. Report of the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association.

The consensus of scientists is that exposure to radon is hazardous, but disagreement exists about the effects of lower radon concentrations. Studies of underground miners have indicated that the risk of lung cancer increases in proportion to the intensity and duration of exposure to radon, and a recent authoritative report (BEIR IV) has concluded that estimates based on those studies are appropriate for estimating risks for occupants of homes. The BEIR IV report concluded that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of lung cancer associated with radon. Average radon levels in US homes range from 0.055 to 0.148 Bq/L (1.5 to 4 pCi/L), depending on the circumstances of measurement. Few studies have investigated health outcomes in occupants of homes with high radon levels. In advising patients about reducing the risks associated with radon, physicians should consider the costs, as well as the benefits, of remedial actions, and they should emphasize that, by far, the best way to avoid lung cancer is to stop smoking.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗