Children’s Exposure to Radon in Schools and Kindergartens in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

This work presents the results from measurements of radon concentrations in primary and high school education institutions—including their gymnasiums—from the Chisinau municipality and various rayons from the central and southern part of the Republic of Moldova. In the research carried out during the years of 2013–2014 and 2021, there were 78 (29 + 49) premises included, respectively, and 149 and 23,805 investigations were performed using RTM-1642 (active measurements) and RadonEye+2 devices (passive measurements). The results show an essential variability for the studied radio-stressogenic factor, depending on the geological conditions of the location of the premises and the age of the building. Thus, during 2013–2014, the minimum concentration of radon detected was 26 Bq m−3, and the maximum detected was 607 Bq m−3. In 2021, the results denote an indicator variability in the range of 17.4–657.9 Bq m−3 for early education institutions, with an average value of 127.6 Bq m−3, and denote a range of 231.8–1129.3 Bq m−3, with an average value of 665.4 Bq m−3), for high school education institutions and their gymnasiums. The effective annual dose for the children in a classroom varies between an interval of 0.21–4.88 mSv y−1 (average 1.19 mSv y−1) and 0.14–9.08 mSv y−1 (average 1.29 mSv y−1) for the 2013–2014 and 2021 surveys, respectively.

Indoor Radon Survey in Aksu School and Kindergarten Located near Radioactive Waste Storage Facilities and Gold Mines in Northern Kazakhstan (Akmola Region)

“…As a result of child exposure to radon, the risk of developing lung cancer can be up to three times higher than in adults exposed to the same amount of radon concentration. This is explained as being due to morphometric differences between the lungs of children and those of adults, the higher average respiratory rate in children compared to adults [22].…”

Contribution to the study of "smoking and radon" interaction in the lung cancer development across the Republic of Moldova

“…Considering that lung cancer ranks second among total cancer morbidity and is also the second leading cause of death from malignant tumors in the Republic of Moldova (4), with more than a quarter of the adult population exposed to smoking (22) and radon posing an increased risk factor for public health in residential premises (23,24), the purpose of this study is to assess the interaction between tobacco smoking and residential radon exposure in relation to lung cancer morbidity in the Republic of Moldova over the last ten years. The research hypothesis states that the use of statistical methods is a key tool for identifying and assessing the most vulnerable population groups to the cumulative effects of tobacco smoking and radon exposure as risk factors for lung cancer in the country.…”