Radon exposure estimates versus radon concentration

[FIELDRW@aol.com]

In a message dated 00-03-15 13:47:27 Ernesto wrote:

"known" high radon level in my  house causes me to spend less time indoors, 
therefore, my radon exposure is  actually lower than it may have been had I 
spent more time indoors inside a  house with lower radon levels.   Therefore, 
high radon levels *could* correlate  with lower exposures (and risks) if we 
use this "avoidance hypothesis".
1) Wouldn't the only way to truly assess this effect be with a cohort study 
(and
the required time-motion tracking of exposure), which as mentioned before is
prohibitively expensive?  
2) Has anyone assessed the effect of an individual 's actions to a potential 
radon hazard once the individual is made aware of the potential hazard?
------------------ 
Ernesto, they are two very good questions.  

You could ascertain this information using either a case-control or 
prospective cohort design.  The prospective cohort design is prohibitively 
expensive.  We were able to collect detailed retrospective mobility 
information for each individual enrolled in the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer 
Case-Control Study.  This included the number of hours they spent in their 
home, in another building, and outdoors.  We also collected information on 
the number of hours they spent in various parts of their home in the past.  
You would be surprised how often people changed the location of their master 
bedroom.  We used this information to link the numerous radon CONCENTRATION 
measurments with where they spent time in order to get radon EXPOSURE 
estimates.   

Regards, Bill Field
bill-field@uiowa.edu
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