Journal article
A Comparison of Winter Short-term and Annual Average Radon Measurements in Basements of a Radon-prone Region and Evaluation of Further Radon Testing Indicators
Health physics (1958), Vol.106(5), pp.535-544
05/01/2014
DOI: 10.1097/HP.0000000000000004
PMCID: PMC4006371
PMID: 24670901
Abstract
The primary objective of this study was to investigate the temporal variability between basement winter short-term (7 to 10 d) and basement annual radon measurements. Other objectives were to test the short-term measurement's diagnostic performance at two reference levels and to evaluate its ability to predict annual average basement radon concentrations. Electret ion chamber (short-term) and alpha track (annual) radon measurements were obtained by trained personnel in Iowa residences. Overall, the geometric mean of the short-term radon concentrations (199 Bq m(-3)) was slightly greater than the geometric mean of the annual radon concentrations (181 Bq m(-3)). Short-term tests correctly predicted annual radon concentrations to be above the 148 Bq m(-3) action level 88% of the time and above a 74 Bq m(-3) level 98% of the time. The short-term and annual radon concentrations were strongly correlated (r = 0.87, p < 0.0001). The foundation wall material of the basement was the only significant factor to have an impact on the absolute difference between the short-term and annual measurements. The findings from this study provide evidence of a substantially lower likelihood of obtaining a false negative result from a single short-term test in a region with high indoor radon potential when the reference level is lowered to 74 Bq m(-3).
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- A Comparison of Winter Short-term and Annual Average Radon Measurements in Basements of a Radon-prone Region and Evaluation of Further Radon Testing Indicators
- Creators
- Nirmalla G. Barros - *Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242; †Department of Physics, St. John's University, Collegeville, MN 56321.Daniel J. Steck - St. John's UniversityR. William Field - Univ Iowa, Dept Occupat & Environm Hlth, Coll Publ Hlth, Iowa City, IA 52242 USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Health physics (1958), Vol.106(5), pp.535-544
- DOI
- 10.1097/HP.0000000000000004
- PMID
- 24670901
- PMCID
- PMC4006371
- NLM abbreviation
- Health Phys
- ISSN
- 0017-9078
- eISSN
- 1538-5159
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- RO1 CA85942 / National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Cancer Institute (NCI) T42OH008491 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH; United States Department of Health & Human Services; Centers for Disease Control & Prevention - USA; National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) T42OH008491 / National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), CDC; United States Department of Health & Human Services; Centers for Disease Control & Prevention - USA; National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) R01CA085942 / NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Cancer Institute (NCI) RO1 ES05653; P30 ES05605 / National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIEHS), NIH P30ES005605 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/01/2014
- Academic Unit
- Occupational and Environmental Health; Epidemiology
- Record Identifier
- 9984364425602771
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