Rising Canadian and falling Swedish radon gas exposure as a consequence of 20th to 21st century residential build practices

Khan, Selim M.; Pearson, Dustin D.; Rönnqvist, Tryggve; Nielsen, Markus E.; Taron, Joshua; Goodarzi, Aaron A.

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-96928-x

Cited by 30 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…29 However, the global estimation of residential radon by UNSCEAR was still reliable, [13][14][15] although couples of countries reported increasing trend of residential radon concentration, like Canada, Korea, and China. [30][31][32] This may be possibly explained by other reasons. First, as the top risk factor for lung cancer, the smoking rate around the world declined significantly, 33 which may lead to the declined lung cancer mortality due to radon from smoking exposure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global burden assessment of lung cancer attributed to residential radon exposure during 1990–2019

et al. 2022

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This study aimed to explore the spatial and temporal trends of lung cancer burden attributable to residential radon exposure at the global, regional, and national levels. Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019, we collected the age‐standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age‐standardized disability‐adjusted life rate (ASDR) of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure from 1990 to 2019. The Joinpoint model was used to calculate the annual average percentage change (AAPC) to evaluate the trend of ASMR and ASDR from 1990 to 2019. The locally weighted regression (LOESS) was used to estimate the relationship of the socio‐demographic index (SDI) with ASMR and ASDR. In 2019, the global ASMR and ASDR for lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure were 1.03 (95% CI: 0.20, 2.00) and 22.66 (95% CI: 4.49, 43.94) per 100 000 population, which were 15.6% and 23.0% lower than in 1990, respectively. According to the estimation, we found the lung cancer burden attributable to residential radon exposure declined significantly in high and high‐middle SDI regions, but substantially increased in middle and low‐middle SDI regions from 1990 to 2019. Across age and sex, the highest burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure was found in males and elderly groups. In conclusion, the global burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure showed a declining trend from 1990 to 2019, but a relatively large increase was found in the middle SDI regions. In 2019, the burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure remained high, particularly in males, the elderly, and high‐middle SDI regions compared with other groups.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global burden assessment of lung cancer attributed to residential radon exposure during 1990–2019

et al. 2022

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“…This approach, focusing on the constructive aspects of buildings, was studied by Khan et al, in an attempt to demonstrate the impacts that the changes introduced in residential build practices have on the reduction of indoor radon concentrations [ 37 ]. For this, the authors compared long term radon tests and buildings from 25,489 Canadian and 38,596 Swedish residential properties constructed after 1945, demonstrating that the provisions in the 2010 Canada Build Code have not significantly reduced innate radon risks, highlighting the urgency of novel code interventions to achieve systemic radon reduction and cancer prevention.…”

Section: State-of-the Artmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Indoor Radon on Health: A Comprehensive Review on Causes, Assessment and Remediation Strategies

Nunes

Curado

Graça

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Indoor radon exposure is raising concerns due to its impact on health, namely its known relationship with lung cancer. Consequently, there is an urgent need to understand the risk factors associated with radon exposure, and how this can be harmful to the health of exposed populations. This article presents a comprehensive review of studies indicating a correlation between indoor radon exposure and the higher probability of occurrence of health problems in exposed populations. The analyzed studies statistically justify this correlation between exposure to indoor radon and the incidence of lung diseases in regions where concentrations are particularly high. However, some studies also showed that even in situations where indoor radon concentrations are lower, can be found a tendency, albeit smaller, for the occurrence of negative impacts on lung cancer incidence. Lastly, regarding risk remediation, an analysis has been conducted and presented in two core perspectives: (i) focusing on the identification and application of corrective measures in pre-existing buildings, and (ii) focusing on the implementation of preventive measures during the project design and before construction, both focusing on mitigating negative impacts of indoor radon exposure on the health of populations.

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“…Although radon is emanated by most of the Earth’s subsurface, through most of human history it is reasonable to hypothesize that it diluted naturally in the atmosphere, or was effectively vented from (predominantly non air-tight) buildings to low (< 100 Bq/m 3 ) levels with no evident health impacts 14 . Regrettably, construction practices over the past century have produced urban and rural environments with buildings that capture, contain, and concentrate radon to unnatural and unsafe levels 12 , 13 , 20 , 23 . Residential radon gas levels continue to change over time, often as a function of evolving regional building trends.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Residential radon gas levels continue to change over time, often as a function of evolving regional building trends. For example, new Canadian houses currently show 467% higher radon levels vs modern Swedish equivalents, although radon levels in mid-to-late twentieth century Canadian properties were either equivalent to or less than those in Sweden 23 . This scenario is thought to have arisen not from any identifiable, specific radon-related intervention, but rather as a collateral consequence of ever-changing and often diverging region-specific building practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social factors and behavioural reactions to radon test outcomes underlie differences in radiation exposure dose, independent of household radon level

Irvine

Simms

Cholowsky

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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Radioactive radon gas inhalation causes lung cancer, and public health strategies have responded by promoting testing and exposure reduction by individuals. However, a better understanding of how radon exposure disparities are driven by psychological and social variables is required. Here, we explored how behavioural factors modified residential radon-related radiation doses incurred by 2390 people who performed a radon test. The average time from first awareness to receiving a radon test outcome was 6.8–25.5 months, depending on behaviour and attitudes. 20.5% displayed radon test urgency that reduced irradiation between awareness and outcome to 1.8 mSv from a typical 3.5 mSv, while 14.8% (more likely to be men) displayed delaying behaviours that increased exposure to 8.0 mSv. Of those with low radon, 45.9% indicated no future testing intention, underscoring the importance of original tests to reliably establish risk. Among people finding high radon, 38% mitigated quickly, 29% reported economic impediments, and 33% displayed delaying behaviours. Economic barriers and delaying behaviours resulted in 8.4 mSv/year or 10.3 mSv/year long term excess exposure, respectively, increasing lifetime risk of lung cancer by ~ 30–40%. Excess radiation doses incurred from behaviour were independent of household radon level, highlighting the strong influence of psychological and socioeconomic factors on radon exposure and lung cancer risks.

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Rising Canadian and falling Swedish radon gas exposure as a consequence of 20th to 21st century residential build practices

Cited by 30 publications

References 44 publications

A global burden assessment of lung cancer attributed to residential radon exposure during 1990–2019

A global burden assessment of lung cancer attributed to residential radon exposure during 1990–2019

Impacts of Indoor Radon on Health: A Comprehensive Review on Causes, Assessment and Remediation Strategies

Social factors and behavioural reactions to radon test outcomes underlie differences in radiation exposure dose, independent of household radon level

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