Radon Field Day

["Richard F. Orthen" <rorthen@EARTHSCIENCES.NET>]

Another from IEM's news desk:



May 17, 2002 - Ascribe News (05/16/02) - University of Iowa Study Finds

Health Risk From Residential Radon Exposure Higher Than Previously

Estimated - The health risk posed by residential radon exposure may have

been substantially underestimated in previous studies, according to

investigators in the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Long-term

exposure to radon gas in the home is associated with increased lung cancer

risk and presents a significant environmental health hazard. "Our findings

indicate that the exposure assessment models used in many previous studies

may have underestimated the risk posed by residential radon exposure by 50

percent or more," said lead author R. William Field, Ph.D., a research

scientist with the UI Department of Epidemiology. The results of the study

appear in the May 2002 issue of the Journal of Exposure Analysis and

Environmental Epidemiology. The UI researchers examined several exposure

assessment methods used by previous residential radon studies performed in

North America, Europe and China. They compared these models to a more

comprehensive exposure method that linked a person's movement to various

radon measurements within a home. All of the models were assessed using the

same study population. The exposure methods used by previous studies all

produced lower risk estimates than the comprehensive method. The highest

degree of error was noted for methods that based risk solely on basement

radon measurements. "While radon concentrations tend to be highest in

basements, people typically spend limited time there," Field said. "A more

accurate assessment of risk can be formulated by linking multiple radon

measurements taken within a home to where and how much time an occupant

spends in the home."



Rick Orthen









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