International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Opinion
Suggestions for Improvements in National Radon Control Strategies of Member States Which Weree Developed as a
Requirement of EU Directive 2013
/ 59 EURATOM
James P . Mc Laughlin 1 , Jose-Luis Gutierrez-Villanueva 2 , * and Tanja Perko
3
1 2 3
*
School of Physics , University College Dublin , 4 Dublin , Ireland ; james . mclaughlin @ ucd . ie Radonova Laboratories AB , 751 38 Uppsala , Sweden Institute for Environment , Health and Safety , SCK CEN & University of Antwerp , 2400 Mol , Belgium ; tanja . perko @ sckcen . be Correspondence : joseluis . gutierrez @ radonova . com ; Tel .: + 46-709368312 check for updates
Citation : Mc Laughlin , J . P .; Gutierrez-Villanueva , J . -L
.; Perko , T . Suggestions for Improvements in National Radon Control Strategies of Member States Which Were Developed as a Requirement of EU Directive 2013 / 59 EURATOM . Int . J . Environn . Res . Public Health
2022 , 19 , 3805 . https :// doi . org / 10 . 3390 /
ijerph19073805
Academ mic Editor : Paul B . Tchounwou
Received : 31 January 20222 Accepted : 6 March 2022 Published : 23 March 2022
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Copyright : © 2022 by the authors . Licensee MDPI , Basel , Switzerland . This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creativee Commons Attribution ( CC BY ) license ( https :// creativecommons . org / licenses / by / 4.0 /).
Abstract : Exposure to the indoor air pollutant radon is considered to be a significant health risk globally , as has been demonstrated by many studies over time . A recent
WHO statement on radon estimates that , worldwide , approximately 80,000 people may die every year due to lung cancer associated with radon exposuree . The recent years have also seen huge improvements in radon policies in European countries , as a consequence of the issuing , in 2013
, of the Council Directive 2013 / 59 / Euratom . Although the protection of workers from radon exposuree is well established , the protection of the general public needs more improvements . The main objectivee of this paper is , first , to acknowledge and recognise the improvements in radon protection policies , but also to show that there are many areas where improvements are desirable and possible . The final goal is to suggest better ways to protect the general population from exposure to radon gas . The suggestions are based on the experiences of the co‐authors , who come from different disciplines related to radon management . The following fields or areas where improvements are possible are identified : risk communication , building codes , radon policies , including funding , research and protection of children . We describee the work that has been conducted , and the possible improvements and solutions in these fields .
Keywords : EURATOM BSS ; radon action plans ; building codes ; risk communication
1. Introduction The naturally occurring radioactive gas radon is classified as a human carcinogenn by the IARC , and the WHO considerss that , after smoking , exposure to radon is a significant cause of lung cancer [ 1,2
]. Due to its synergistic effects , radon exposure is an important lung cancer risk factor among smokers , who are at a 25 times higher risk of developing lung cancer from radon exposuree than non‐smokers [ 3 ]. The WHO also considers radon to be an important cause of lung cancer in people who have never smoked
. Epidemiological studies of both occupationally exposed workers and members of the public exposed to radon in their homes have established quantitative evidence thatt prolonged exposure to radon , and its short‐lived progeny , may significantly increase the risk of lung cancer [ 4 – 6 ]. Lung dosimetry studies support the epidemiological evidence [ 7 ].
Based on representativee national radon surveys in 66 countries , including China and India , some estimates of radon‐attributable deaths from lung cancer in the global population have been made [ 8 ]. Notwithstanding the many uncertainties involved in such estimations in this study , it was estimated that , globally , these deaths are likely to exceed 250,000 per year . On the other hand , the WHO recently estimated the annual globall death rate from radon to be circa 80,000 [ 3 ]. Irrespective of the accuracy of such estimates , the global health burden from radon exposure represents a significant public
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