Confluent impact of housing and geology on indoor radon concentrations in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Dai, Dajun; Neal, F. Brent; Diem, Jeremy E.; Deocampo, Daniel M.; Stauber, Christine E.; Dignam, Timothy

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.257

Cited by 30 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…3 Buildings radon activity concentration calculated as average of floor means. 4 Buildings radon activity concentration calculated as average of all rooms' concentration values.…”

Section: Distribution Of Annual Radon Activity Concentration In Rooms and Buildingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, building construction materials containing radium, the porosity of constructions materials, the presence of cracks in walls or flooring, especially in older buildings, and the connection type with the soil in foundations (e.g., connection by the underground/ground floor or a crawl space) highly influence the indoor radon levels. Therefore, the morphology of a target area and the building characteristics affect the indoor radon concentrations [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Radon Spatial Variations in University’s Buildings Located in an Italian Karst Region

et al. 2021

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In the framework of a collaboration between INAIL and University of Salento, an indoor radon survey in 54 buildings belonging to the UniSalento University (Southeast Italy) was carried out. The monitored buildings differ by type, construction period, materials, etc., and are located in an area with a morphology characterized mainly by marls, calcareous marls, and calcarenites (karst area). The sample of the survey includes 963 rooms at different floors: it consists in rooms mainly located at ground floor (67%), first floor (12%), and below ground (12%). SSNTD passive dosimeters measured the average radon activity concentration for two consecutive semesters (spring/summer and autumn/winter) from which annual radon averages were estimated for each room. The spatial variability within buildings was investigated in terms of variation between floors and among rooms at the same floor. Data analysis provides evidence that the distributions (in terms of arithmetic mean, standard deviation, median, and geometric mean) of indoor radon annual averages at ground floor and at first floor within building are very similar. This highlights that the karstic characteristics of soil and building materials affect radon levels not only below ground and at ground floor, but also at first floor. Moreover, to evaluate the spatial variability of radon among buildings or floors, the analysis of the distribution of coefficient of variation (CV) was carried out: the results show a low spatial variability with median and average values of CVs ≤ 30% both for the whole building and at different floor levels.

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“…3 Buildings radon activity concentration calculated as average of floor means. 4 Buildings radon activity concentration calculated as average of all rooms' concentration values.…”

Section: Distribution Of Annual Radon Activity Concentration In Rooms and Buildingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radon Spatial Variations in University’s Buildings Located in an Italian Karst Region

et al. 2021

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“…Lower Cenozoic and Quaternary mud and sand deposited in valleys, along with windblown loess deposited on uplands, are exposed in parts of Kentucky (McDowell, 1986; McFarlan, 1943), and are shown on Figure 2 in areas where they are thick enough to obscure bedrock. The simplified geologic map does not show faults, which may influence radon gas migration through the subsurface (Dai et al, 2019), but was not considered in the development of our statewide radon potential map.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Geologically Based Indoor‐Radon Potential Map of Kentucky

et al. 2020

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We combined 71,930 short‐term (median duration 4 days) home radon test results with 1:24,000‐scale bedrock geologic map coverage of Kentucky to produce a statewide geologically based indoor‐radon potential map. The test results were positively skewed with a mean of 266 Bq/m 3 , median of 122 Bq/m 3 , and 75th percentile of 289 Bq/m 3 . We identified 106 formations with ≥10 test results. Analysis of results from 20 predominantly monolithologic formations showed indoor‐radon concentrations to be positively skewed on a formation‐by‐formation basis, with a proportional relationship between sample means and standard deviations. Limestone (median 170 Bq/m 3 ) and dolostone (median 130 Bq/m 3 ) tended to have higher indoor‐radon concentrations than siltstones and sandstones (median 67 Bq/m 3 ) or unlithified surficial deposits (median 63 Bq/m 3 ). Individual shales had median values ranging from 67 to 189 Bq/m 3 ; the median value for all shale values was 85 Bq/m 3 . Percentages of values falling above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action level of 148 Bq/m 3 were sandstone and siltstone: 24%, unlithified clastic: 21%, dolostone: 46%, limestone: 55%, and shale: 34%. Mississippian limestones, Ordovician limestones, and Devonian black shales had the highest indoor‐radon potential values in Kentucky. Indoor‐radon test mean values for the selected formations were also weakly, but statistically significantly, correlated with mean aeroradiometric uranium concentrations. To produce a map useful to nonspecialists, we classified each of the 106 formations into five radon‐geologic classes on the basis of their 75th percentile radon concentrations. The statewide map is freely available through an interactive internet map service.

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“…Found in trace concentrations outdoors (between 5 and 15 Bqm -3 ) it can accumulate to life threatening concentrations when trapped indoors (WHO, 2016). Radon accumulation indoors is dependent both on natural conditions (geogenic radon, soil properties) as well as anthropogenic factors, such as construction and current condition of a building which can allow radon to migrate from the ground through various opened pathways into the living spaces (Cosma et al, 2013a;Dai et al, 2019;. Epidemiological studies have established that exposure to enhanced levels of radon can lead to life-threatening diseases, particularly lung cancer (Darby et al, 2005;WHO, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive survey on radon mitigation and indoor air quality in energy efficient buildings from Romania

Burghele

Botoș

Beldean-Galea

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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Confluent impact of housing and geology on indoor radon concentrations in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Cited by 30 publications

References 66 publications

Radon Spatial Variations in University’s Buildings Located in an Italian Karst Region

Radon Spatial Variations in University’s Buildings Located in an Italian Karst Region

A Geologically Based Indoor‐Radon Potential Map of Kentucky

Comprehensive survey on radon mitigation and indoor air quality in energy efficient buildings from Romania

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