of decision making factors and socioeconomics relating to radon awareness , testing , and reduction ( i . e ., how fast an individual is able to understand and reduce radon exposure as a personal risk factor ) 20 , 21 , 30 , 38 , 39 , as well as lifestyle factors such as occupation that dictate activity patterns ( i . e ., the amount of time spent between environments ) 19 , 20 , 21 . Based on current residential radon levels and activity patterns , radiation doses from radon in Canada are estimated to be at historic highs , with radon-vulnerable populations in Canada including younger people with children living at home , who are employed or in education , and / or whose occupations are more amenable to telecommuting19 . In part , this phenomenon is driven by younger ( those under age 45 ) Canadian adults being more likely to live in newer , more affordable residential buildings that have innately higher radon levels , and / or who are less able to afford radon reduction services due to comparatively lower household incomes21 .
Socioeconomic disparities in lung cancer risk have been documented previously and are often linked to community types , with people living in more rural area ( i . e . less populated ) communities being more likely to use tobacco , earn less income , be exposed to different and / or higher amounts of environmental lung carcinogens throughout life , and have reduced access to health care and / or higher education40 , 41 , 42 . In the context of radon exposure , disparities between urban and rural communities are documented and intriguing , but still ambiguous . Certainly , there are many reports of disparate rural versus urban indoor air radon levels across the globe37 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , highlighting a potentially serious issue with an ambiguous origin . One theory has been that domestic water supplies from rural-area groundwater wells often contain higher amounts of dissolved radon relative to ( already degassed ) supplies entering houses from urban-area municipal water treatment plants49 , 50 . However , the contribution of water-borne radon to indoor air radon levels assessed in recent decades has typically been found to be relatively minor (~ 1 – 2 % of total , equating to microsievert ( μSv ) doses ) 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ; this is most likely because the equilibration ratio of radon from air to water is 1:10,000 , meaning 10,000 Bq / L of radon degassing from water contributes only 1 Bq / m 3 to air49 . Thus , an important question