Simulation of lifetime radon exposures using observation data

Conference · · Archives of Environmental Health; (USA)

OSTI ID:5733870

Janssen, I; Stebbings, J H ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Laboratory, IL (USA)

The frequency distribution of lifetime risk of radon-induced lung cancer is a function of the frequency distribution of lifetime radon exposure, which differs from the frequency distribution of radon in homes because of residential mobility. Cumulative personal exposures are averages of a variable number of house radon values, weighted according to duration of occupancy and recency of residence. We simulated a distribution of individual, cumulative Working Level Month (WLM) exposures using observed residence histories from lung cancer cases from Eastern Pennsylvania and (basement) Working Levels (WL) from a survey of Reading Prong, Pennsylvania. The measurements for basement-level houses have a higher skewed distribution, well-approximated by a Gamma distribution with small shape parameter for this high-radon area, where 30% of the houses have basement radon levels that exceed 9 pCi/{ell}. Using the BEIR IV model and assuming a 50% occupancy factor, we assigned either lifetime residence in a single house or a real residence history at random for women randomly selected from the age distribution of female lung cancer cases. Averaging over houses reduces the exposure of the most highly exposed 5% of the population but increases it for 95%: the upper 25% attains lifetime exposure of {ge} 74 WLM, yielding a relative risk (RR) {ge} 2.1. Ignoring mobility and basing the calculations on the distribution of radon in houses, the corresponding values would be 48.0 WLM and a RR of 1.7. The 50th percentile of the population has an estimated WLM exposure of 34.6 (RR = 1.5); this estimate would be 16.8 (RR = 1.2) if we assume one house per lifetime.

• OSTI ID: 5733870
• Report Number(s): CONF-890937--
• Journal Information: Archives of Environmental Health; (USA), Journal Name: Archives of Environmental Health; (USA) Vol. 45:5; ISSN 0003-9896; ISSN AEHLA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

552000 -- Public Health
560151* -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Man
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
ANIMALS
BUILDINGS
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
GASES
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HOUSES
MAMMALS
MAN
NONMETALS
PRIMATES
RADON
RARE GASES
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
RISK ASSESSMENT
VERTEBRATES