Influence of energy-saving measures on the radon concentration in some kindergartens in the Czech Republic

Fojtı́ková, Ivana; Rovenská, K.

doi:10.1093/rpd/ncu073

Cited by 28 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Indoor mean radon concentrations reported in recent literature for nursery schools from Italy [ 24 ], Bulgaria [ 26 ], Slovenia [ 25 ] and Czech Republic [ 27 ] were usually higher than those found in the present study, in both school microenvironments in the Porto and Bragança districts, which in turn were higher than those found in nursery schools from Saudi Arabia [ 22 ] and Poland [ 10 ].…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 75%

“…Considering the latter and as far as the authors’ knowledge goes, in the last five years 19 studies regarding radon in indoor air of nursery and primary schools can be found. The majority of them were only focused on primary schools [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], while others also considered nursery schools [ 10 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ] and some others only considered nursery schools [ 27 , 28 ]. The extent of the studies varied considerably from study to study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The extent of the studies varied considerably from study to study. There are studies (surveys) that included a considerable number of nursery and primary schools of a particular country or region [ 14 , 16 , 27 ] and others studied only a limited number of buildings [ 25 , 26 ]. In the latter cases, a representative number of buildings was selected taking into account selection criteria that varied from case to case, like a comparison between two different cities [ 10 ] or a comparison between urban and rural contexts [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Children’s Exposure to Radon in Nursery and Primary Schools

Branco

Nunes

Alvim-Ferraz

et al. 2016

IJERPH

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The literature proves an evident association between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer, even at low doses. This study brings a new approach to the study of children’s exposure to radon by aiming to evaluate exposure to indoor radon concentrations in nursery and primary schools from two districts in Portugal (Porto and Bragança), considering different influencing factors (occupation patterns, classroom floor level, year of the buildings’ construction and soil composition of the building site), as well as the comparison with IAQ standard values for health protection. Fifteen nursery and primary schools in the Porto and Bragança districts were considered: five nursery schools for infants and twelve for pre-schoolers (seven different buildings), as well as eight primary schools. Radon measurements were performed continuously. The measured concentrations depended on the building occupation, classroom floor level and year of the buildings’ construction. Although they were in general within the Portuguese legislation for IAQ, exceedances to international standards were found. These results point out the need of assessing indoor radon concentrations not only in primary schools, but also in nursery schools, never performed in Portugal before this study. It is important to extend the study to other microenvironments like homes, and in time to estimate the annual effective dose and to assess lifetime health risks.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Children’s Exposure to Radon in Nursery and Primary Schools

Branco

Nunes

Alvim-Ferraz

et al. 2016

IJERPH

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“…Radon testing in child care centres will become even more relevant with the aging of buildings as it has been observed that renovations and new construction methods result in an increased air-tightness of buildings, which is accompanied by an accumulation of radon. 25 To address minor difficulties regarding the radon tests and certain gaps in the communication approach in the current intervention, some adjustments could be made to the tools used. The first task would be to determine lay people's relevant beliefs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of a radon measurement protocol and its communication plan by child care centre managers in Québec

Gagnon

Poulin²,

Leclerc³

et al. 2016

Can J Public Health

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OBJECTIVES: To invite and support managers of child care centres to measure radon concentrations in their buildings. Their ability to carry out a measurement protocol and communication plan was also evaluated as well as the intention of parents and educators to test for radon at home. PARTICIPANTS:Managers, parents and educators of child care centres.SETTING: 36 child care centres located in two priority investigation areas in Québec. INTERVENTION:A kit containing radon detectors with installation and recovery instructions was shipped by mail in addition to factsheets intended for parents and educators. Site visits and phone calls were also conducted with a sample of child care centres and participants. OUTCOMES:The instructions related to detector installation were generally well respected. Afterward, more than half (18) of the 34 parents and educators interviewed said that they had been directly informed of this radon testing by managers or other educators, and not by the factsheet provided. This radon measurement intervention was considered very relevant by 91% of them and a quarter (26%) expressed their intention to test for radon at home, while 6% had already done so. Two child care centres (5.5%) had at least one measurement above the Canadian guideline level of 200 Bq/m 3 .CONCLUSION: This intervention has demonstrated the ability of child care centre managers to carry out this type of autonomous procedure, which can be centralized to minimize costs. This type of intervention may influence parents to become more familiar with this contaminant and measure their family's exposure at home. KEY WORDS:Child care centres; radon testing; Québec; perception La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

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“…Comparative studies in samples of energy retrofitted and unreconstructed residential low-rise buildings demonstrated 22–120% increase of average of radon concentration 20 . Studies in the Czech Republic 21 and Russia 22 have shown 1.6 times average increase of radon concentrations in children institutions. In the United States, the increase of radon concentration by 33% (to 118 Bq/m 3 on average) was observed in houses included in the national energy saving program in the zone with elevated geogenic radon potential; at the same time, in the zone with the lowest radon potential, the radon concentration did not change (30 Bq/m 3 ) 23 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radon concentration in conventional and new energy efficient multi-storey apartment houses: results of survey in four Russian cities

Yarmoshenko

Онищенко

Malinovsky

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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During last decades, energy saving in new buildings became relevant within the energy efficiency strategies in various countries. Such energy efficient building characteristics as air tightening and low ventilation can compromise indoor air quality, in particular, increase radon concentration. In Russia, a significant part of the new buildings is the energy efficient multi-storey apartment houses. The aim of this study is to assess the significance of possible radon concentration increase in new energy efficient buildings in comparison with typical conventional multi-storey houses of previous periods. Radon surveys were conducted in Russian cities Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Saint-Petersburg and Krasnodar. The radon measurements were carried out in 478 flats using CR-39 nuclear track detectors. Energy efficiency index (EEI) was assigned to each house. All buildings were divided into six main categories. The smallest average radon concentration was observed in panel and brick houses built according to standard projects of 1970–1990 (four-city average 21 Bq/m3). The highest average radon concentration and EEI were observed in new energy efficient buildings (49 Bq/m3). The trend of radon increase in buildings ranked with high EEI index is observed in all cities. The potential increase of radiation exposure in energy-efficient buildings should be analyzed taking into account the principles of radiological protection.

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Influence of energy-saving measures on the radon concentration in some kindergartens in the Czech Republic

Cited by 28 publications

References 5 publications

Children’s Exposure to Radon in Nursery and Primary Schools

Children’s Exposure to Radon in Nursery and Primary Schools

Implementation of a radon measurement protocol and its communication plan by child care centre managers in Québec

Radon concentration in conventional and new energy efficient multi-storey apartment houses: results of survey in four Russian cities

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