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KMID : 1156220190450060668
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Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
2019 Volume.45 No. 6 p.668 ~ p.674
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A Study on the Concentrations of Indoor Radon for Houses in Chungcheongbuk-do Province, Korea
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Ji Hyun-A
Yoo Ju-Hee
Kim Ga-Hyun
won Soo-Ran
Kim Seon-Hong
Lee Jeong-Sub
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Abstract
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Objectives: Modern people spend most of their day indoors. As the health impact of radon becomes an issue, public interest also has been growing. The primary route of potential human exposure to radon is inhalation. Long-term exposure to high levels of radon increases the risk of developing lung cancer. Radon exposure is known to be the second-leading cause of lung cancer, following tobacco smoke. This study measures the indoor radon concentrations in detached houses in area A of Chungcheongbuk-do Province considering the construction year, cracks in the houses, the location of installed detectors, and seasonal effects.
Methods: The survey was conducted from September 2017 to April 2018 on 1,872 private households located in selected areas in northern Chungcheongbuk-do Province to figure out the year of building construction and the location of detector installed and identify the factors which affect radon concentrations in the air within the building. Radon was measured using a manual alpha track detector (Raduet, Hungary) with a sampling period of longer than 90 days.
Results: Indoor radon concentrations in winter within area A was surveyed to be 168.3±193.3 Bq/m3 . There was more than a 2.3 times difference between buildings built before 1979 and those built after 2010. The concentration reached 195.4±221.9 Bq/m3 for buildings with fractures and 167.2±192.4 Bq/m3 for buildings without fractures. It was found that detectors installed in household areas with windows exhibited a lower concentration than those installed in concealed spaces.
Conclusion: High concentrations of indoor radon were shown when there was a crack in the house. Also, ventilation
seems to significantly affect radon concentrations because when the location of the detector in the installed site was near windows compared to an enclosed area, radon concentration variation increased. Therefore, it is considered that radon concentration is lower in summer because natural ventilation occurs more often than in winter.
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KEYWORD
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Indoor radon, construction year, natural radiation, lung cancer, alpha track detector
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