Domestic and personal determinants of the contamination of individuals by household radon daughters
Radon daughters were counted by gamma spectroscopy from 180 adult residents of eastern Pennsylvania during the winter of 1983-84. Body radon daughter contamination is an index of relative individual respiratory exposures to radon daughters. These can be related to household radon levels, and to personal risk factors such as sex and tobacco smoking. Over 75% of this Pennsylvania population appeared to have environmentally enhanced radon daughter contamination; 59% had counting rates greater than 2 s.d. above background. House radon levels were the major determinants of radon daughters contamination in the 112 subjects for which both sets of measurements were available (p<.001). Both sex (<.02) and cigarette smoking (p<.005) were found to significantly modify that relationship, after nonlinear adjustment for travel times. Using a logarithmic model, for a given radon level body contamination by radon daughters in females was 2-3.5x higher than in males. Nonsmokers had 2-4x higher levels of contamination than smokers. For female nonsmokers relative to male smokers (which in general corresponds to the population of major concern relative to the population from which risk estimates have been derived), the excesses multiply. These results are for total contamination, both internal and external.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (USA). Biological and Medical Research Div.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31-109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 5458297
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-860626-2; ON: DE86014561
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 20. annual conference on trace substances in environmental health, Columbia, MO, USA, 2 Jun 1986
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
BODY BURDEN
HUMAN POPULATIONS
CONTAMINATION
PENNSYLVANIA
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
EXTERNAL IRRADIATION
HOUSES
INHALATION
INTERNAL IRRADIATION
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADON
SEX DEPENDENCE
TOBACCO SMOKES
WHOLE-BODY COUNTING
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION
BUILDINGS
COLLOIDS
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DISPERSIONS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION III
FLUIDS
GASES
INTAKE
IRRADIATION
ISOTOPES
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
POLLUTION
POPULATIONS
RARE GASES
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
RESIDUES
SMOKES
SOLS
USA
560161* - Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology- Man
560151 - Radiation Effects on Animals- Man
500300 - Environment
Atmospheric- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)