Radon hazard vs. radon risk - On the effectiveness of radon priority areas

Petermann, Eric; Bossew, Peter; Hoffmann, B.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.106833

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The experience with the most effective regulation of indoor radon, such as that implemented in the US 16–20 or Sweden 40 shows that all buildings in all areas, not just RPA, should be tested. Moreover, this statement has recently been rigorously substantiated by analyzing the results of measurements of indoor radon in Germany 41 . Finally, the survey of any area is also promoted in ICRP Publication 126, 8 which is a significant advance in relation to the excessive focus on only RPA in the earlier documents such as ICRP Publication 65 22 and EU‐BSS 2…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, this statement has recently been rigorously substantiated by analyzing the results of measurements of indoor radon in Germany. 41 Finally, the survey of any area is also promoted in ICRP Publication 126, 8 which is a significant advance in relation to the excessive focus on only RPA in the earlier documents such as ICRP Publication 65 22 and EU-BSS. 2 Since any existing building (among hundreds of millions of buildings everywhere) has a potential for radon hazard, conditions for large-scale (mass) indoor radon measurements in each country,…”

Section: Mass Character Of Measurements Via Shortterm Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short‐ versus long‐term tests of indoor radon for risk assessment by Monte‐Carlo method towards effective measurement strategy

Tsapalov

Kovler

2022

Indoor Air

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There now exists a broad consensus among the European radon community members that long-term measurements are the best practice in managing the risk of indoor radon exposure. This, not with standing the fact that <1% of buildings have been tested in Europe so far. At the same time, US' experience over the years shows more effective regulation has been accomplished through tests that are short-term. This study quantifies the uncertainty of collective risks obtained independently through short-and long-term measurements under the same conditions using the Monte Carlo method that takes into account the number of measurements, as well as the diversity of the spatial distribution of radon concentrations in representative samples of buildings. Simulation results have shown that contrary to the erroneous practice of the European radon community, the accuracy of the assessment of the collective risk due to radon exposure does not in fact depend on the duration of the indoor test at all. The main problem remains ensuring the existance of a representative sample of buildings, especially given limited number of tests. In this regard, recommended is a revision of the regulatory documents of IAEA, ICRP, WHO, and ISO focusing on (i) the principle of the effective measurement strategy based on rational ISO/IEC concepts, (ii) the mass measurements via short-term tests, and (iii) the societal engagement in measurements.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mass Character Of Measurements Via Shortterm Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Short‐ versus long‐term tests of indoor radon for risk assessment by Monte‐Carlo method towards effective measurement strategy

Tsapalov

Kovler

2022

Indoor Air

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“…Firstly, the decision to perform a measurement (or not) follows a risk assessment based in theory on several criteria, but in practice, the map of radon-prone areas appears to be the prime criterion, which might be a shortcoming (Gooding 2018), especially given that research shows that the majority of radon-affected buildings could be located outside radon-prone areas (Petermann et al 2022). Other steps in the management of radon require some kind of multi-criteria consideration (on the diagnosis of the building, on the remediation, the measurement techniques, …) that might also require guidance to avoid taking a one-size-fits-all approach.…”

Section: About the Graded Approach And The Optimisation Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

Application of the ALARA principle for radon at work: feedback from the European ALARA network

Andresz¹,

Schieber²,

STRITT³

et al. 2022

J. Radiol. Prot.

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The Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom has introduced binding requirements for the management of radon in the workplace in Member States of the European Union. How does it work in practice? In 2021, the European ALARA Network (EAN) created a working group on ALARA for Radon at Work (A-RAW) with the objective of collecting and sharing experiences from the field. A survey was developed to detail each step of the national regulations for the control of radon and to describe case studies showing implementation. This article presents the qualitative analysis of the answers received from seven countries. There are no two similar national regulations and, at each step, different provisions, protocols, techniques etc. are applicable or recommended. This diversity contributes to the richness of the results and can inform about interesting and good practices, where good is defined by what is appropriate in the nationally and locally prevailing circumstances. All national regulations follow a graded approach, which is a key component for the implementation of the optimization (ALARA) principle, yet several potential weak points that may be challenging to ALARA have been identified and are discussed, namely the radon risk assessment, the focus on numerical values, uncertainties in the measurement, how to obtain economically efficient remediation, and the interface with other regulations. Strengthening collaboration between risk prevention and radiation protection actors could help to provide and build expertise on radon management in the workplace, especially when exposure is managed as a planned exposure situation.

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“…For example, it would be important to evaluate the number (or percentage) of dwellings/workplaces estimated to exceed the RL in radon priority areas, compared with the total number of dwellings/workplaces exceeding RL in the whole country. In fact, in some cases—depending on the adopted criteria to define such areas, on the distribution of radon levels in such areas and on the population living therein compared with the rest of the country—the dwellings/workplaces exceeding RL in radon priority area can be comparable or significantly less than those in the rest of the country [ 21 , 28 ].…”

Section: Effectiveness Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Radon Action Plans in Europe and Need of Effectiveness Indicators: An Overview of HERCA Activities

Bochicchio

Fenton

Fonseca

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Protection of the population and of workers from exposure to radon is a unique challenge in radiation protection. Many coordinated actions and a variety of expertise are needed. Initially, a National Radon Action Plan (NRAP) has been developed and implemented by some countries, while it is currently recommended by international organizations (e.g., World Health Organization) and required by international regulations, such as the European Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom and the International Basic Safety Standards on Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources, cosponsored by eight international organizations. Within this framework, the Heads of the European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities (HERCA) have organized activities aimed at sharing experiences to contribute toward the development and implementation of effective NRAPs. Two workshops were held in 2014 and 2015, the latter on radon in workplaces. As a follow-up to these, an online event took place in March 2021, and a second specific workshop on NRAP is planned for June 2022. These workshops were attended by experts from the competent authorities of European countries, relevant national and international organizations. The experience of several countries and the outcomes from these workshops have highlighted the need for adequate indicators of the effectiveness and progress of the actions of NRAPs, which could also be useful to implement the principle of optimization and the graded approach in NRAPs. In this paper, the activities of HERCA to support the development and implementation of effective NRAPs are described and some examples of effectiveness indicators are reported, including those already included in the NRAP of some European countries.

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Radon hazard vs. radon risk - On the effectiveness of radon priority areas

Cited by 19 publications

References 16 publications

Short‐ versus long‐term tests of indoor radon for risk assessment by Monte‐Carlo method towards effective measurement strategy

Short‐ versus long‐term tests of indoor radon for risk assessment by Monte‐Carlo method towards effective measurement strategy

Application of the ALARA principle for radon at work: feedback from the European ALARA network

National Radon Action Plans in Europe and Need of Effectiveness Indicators: An Overview of HERCA Activities

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