follow-up study of yearly indoor
radon measurements
in homes, review of
other studies and implications
on lung cancer risk estimates
10/yr
A
Sara Antignani, Gennaro Venoso, Marco Ampollini, Mario Caprio, Carmela Carpentieri, Christian Di Carlo, Barbara Caccia, Nezahat Hunter, Francesco Bochicchio,
Accepted 23 November 2020
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720376816
Highlights
• Indoor radon concentrations show year-to-year variations
• Uncertainty on long-term radon concentration can bias lung cancer risk estimates
• An Italian study estimated a 17% of yearly variability over a decade
• Studies in other countries estimated radon yearly variability from 15% to 62%
• Factors influencing yearly variability estimation were analysed and discussed
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Abstract
Uncertainty on long-term average radon concentration has a large impact on lung cancer risk assessment in epidemiological studies. The uncertainty can be estimated by year-to-year radon concentration variability, however few data are available. In Italy a study has been planned and conducted to evaluate year-to-year radon variability over several years in normally inhabited dwellings, mainly located in Rome. This is the longest study of this kind in Europe; repeat radon measurements are carried out for 10 years using LR-115 radon detectors in the same home in consecutive years. The study includes 84dwellings with long-term average radon
concentration ranging from 28 to 636 Bq/m3. The result shows that year-to-year variability of repeated measurements made in the same home in different years is low, with an overall coefficient of variation of 17%. This is smaller than most of those observed in studies from other European countries and USA, ranging from 15% to 62%. Influencing factors that may explain the differences between this study and other studies have been discussed. Due to the low yearly variability estimated in the present 10-year study, a negligible impact on lung cancer risk estimate for the Italian epidemiological study is expected.
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