220Rn and its progeny in dwellings of Korea

Kim, Chang-Kyu; Kim, Young-Jae; Lee, Hwa-Yong; Chang, Byung-Uck; Tokonami, Shinji

doi:10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.06.012

Cited by 25 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the past, Rn studies were more common than those of Tn, but recent studies in Serbian [1–3], Chinese [4, 5], Indian [6] Canadian [7–9], Japanese [10], Korean [11, 12], Hungarian [13], Slovenian [14], Irish [15, 16] and USA [17] dwellings have show that Tn can be a significant contributor to the radiation exposure. The contributions of Rn and Tn and its progeny (TnP) to radiation exposure are quite different.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative analysis of radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentration measurements

Janik¹,

Tokonami²,

Kranrod³

et al. 2013

Journal of Radiation Research

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This study examined correlations between radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentrations based on surveys conducted in several different countries. For this purpose, passive detectors developed or modified by the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) were used. Radon and thoron concentrations were measured using passive discriminative radon-thoron detectors. Thoron progeny measurements were conducted using the NIRS-modified detector, originally developed by Zhuo and Iida. Weak correlations were found between radon and thoron as well as between thoron and thoron progeny. The statistical evaluation showed that attention should be paid to the thoron equilibrium factor for calculation of thoron progeny concentrations based on thoron measurements. In addition, this evaluation indicated that radon, thoron and thoron progeny were independent parameters, so it would be difficult to estimate the concentration of one from those of the others.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative analysis of radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentration measurements

Janik¹,

Tokonami²,

Kranrod³

et al. 2013

Journal of Radiation Research

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“…Table 3 summarizes thoron and thoron progeny concentrations (EETC) in various countries. As can be seen from the presented data, their number is more restricted than that of radon [ 27 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ].…”

Section: Radioactivity and Resulting Dosementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Activity concentrations of thoron and its progeny were measured in 450 houses from 2002 to 2004 in Korea [ 62 ]. The annual arithmetic and geometric means of thoron concentration were 40.4 and 10.7 Bq m −3 , respectively.…”

Section: Radioactivity and Resulting Dosementioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Thoron (220Rn) and Its Progeny in the Indoor Environment

Tokonami

2020

IJERPH

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The present paper outlines characteristics of thoron and its progeny in the indoor environment. Since the half-life of thoron (220Rn) is very short (55.6 s), its behavior is quite different from the isotope radon (222Rn, half-life 3.8 days) in the environment. Analyses of radon and lung cancer risk have revealed a clearly positive relationship in epidemiological studies among miners and residents. However, there is no epidemiological evidence for thoron exposure causing lung cancer risk. In contrast to this, a dosimetric approach has been approved in the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 137, from which new dose conversion factors for radon and thoron progenies can be obtained. They are given as 16.8 and 107 nSv (Bq m−3 h)−1, respectively. It implies that even a small quantity of thoron progeny will induce higher radiation exposure compared to radon. Thus, an interest in thoron exposure is increasing among the relevant scientific communities. As measurement technologies for thoron and its progeny have been developed, they are now readily available. This paper reviews measurement technologies, activity levels, dosimetry and resulting doses. Although thoron has been underestimated in the past, recent findings have revealed that reassessment of risks due to radon exposure may need to take the presence of thoron and its progeny into account.

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“…The results of the survey showed a mean indoor radon concentration of 53.4 Bq/m 3 , and 1.7 % of the examined homes had indoor radon concentrations exceeding the ICRP-65 radon action level of 200 Bq/m 3 [32]. From 2002 to 2004, 450 homes in seven metropolitan cities and nine provincial regions were examined, showing a mean radon concentration of 40.4 Bq/m 3 [33]. …”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor radon exposure and lung cancer: a review of ecological studies

Yoon

Lee

Joo

et al. 2016

Ann of Occup and Environ Med

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Lung cancer has high mortality and incidence rates. The leading causes of lung cancer are smoking and radon exposure. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized radon as a carcinogenic substance causing lung cancer. Radon is a natural, radioactive substance; it is an inert gas that mainly exists in soil or rock. The gas decays into radioactive particles called radon progeny that can enter the human body through breathing. Upon entering the body, these radioactive elements release α-rays that affect lung tissue, causing lung cancer upon long-term exposure thereto. Epidemiological studies first outlined a high correlation between the incidence rate of lung cancer and exposure to radon progeny among miners in Europe. Thereafter, data and research on radon exposure and lung cancer incidence in homes have continued to accumulate. Many international studies have reported increases in the risk ratio of lung cancer when indoor radon concentrations inside the home are high.Although research into indoor radon concentrations and lung cancer incidence is actively conducted throughout North America and Europe, similar research is lacking in Korea. Recently, however, studies have begun to accumulate and report important data on indoor radon concentrations across the nation. In this study, we aimed to review domestic and foreign research into indoor radon concentrations and to outline correlations between indoor radon concentrations in homes and lung cancer incidence, as reported in ecological studies thereof.Herein, we noted large differences in radon concentrations between and within individual countries. For Korea, we observed tremendous differences in indoor radon concentrations according to region and year of study, even within the same region. In correlation analysis, lung cancer incidence was not found to be higher in areas with high indoor radon concentrations in Korea.Through our review, we identified a need to implement a greater variety of statistical analyses in research on indoor radon concentrations and lung cancer incidence. Also, we suggest that cohort research or patient-control group research into radon exposure and lung cancer incidence that considers smoking and other factors is warranted.

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220Rn and its progeny in dwellings of Korea

Cited by 25 publications

References 23 publications

Comparative analysis of radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentration measurements

Comparative analysis of radon, thoron and thoron progeny concentration measurements

Characteristics of Thoron (220Rn) and Its Progeny in the Indoor Environment

Indoor radon exposure and lung cancer: a review of ecological studies

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