Radon RESEARCH Series
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Understanding radon dose exposures as a function of occupation and work trends
The COVID-19 pandemic produced widespread behaviour changes that shifted how people split their time between different environments , altering health risks including lung cancer .
Since 2020 , we have been studying North American activity patterns before and after the pandemic onset and the implications this has had ( and continues to have ) on radioactive radon gas exposure , a leading cause of lung cancer . We have surveyed > 6,000 Canadian households home to > 12,000 adults and children of varied ages , gender , employment , community , and income . While overall time spent indoors remained unchanged during the height of the pandemic response between 2020- 2021 , the amount of time spent in the primary residence increased from 66.4 to 77 % of life (+ 1062h / y ) after pandemic onset , increasing annual radiation doses from residential radon by 19.2 % (+ 0.97mSv / y ).
Disproportionately greater changes were experienced by younger people in newer urban or suburban properties with more occupants and / or those employed in managerial , administrative , or professional roles , excluding medicine . A large proportion of the effect was driven by telecommuting ( working from home ), now recognized as an increasingly normalized habit across many sectors . In the latter pandemic stages and response exit periods between 2022-2023 , activity patterns changed further , adjusting to a “ new normal ” which is unlikely to return to prepandemic levels of time split between different environments . Our work on this is ongoing , and we are currently exploring the relationship between disability status , activity patterns , and radon exposure . This work supports re-evaluating environmental health risks modified by still-changing activity patterns .
THIS WORK IS BEING FUNDED BY :