Radon priority areas - definition, estimation and uncertainty

Abstract

Pos ing a sub stan tial risk to hu man health, in door ra don has in creas ingly been sub ject to reg ula tion. One key con cept is the one of ra don prone or pri or ity ar eas, which are un der stood as re gions where pre ven tion, mit i ga tion or remediation ac tion should be taken with pri or ity. Ra don pri or ity ar eas must be de fined, and once de fined, es ti mated from data. Ra don pri or ity area es ti ma tion or de lin ea tion amounts to a clas si fi ca tion prob lem, as a do main (a coun try) has to be di vided into mu tu ally ex clu sive zones of dif fer ent "priorityness". Clas si fy ing ar eas into pri or ity zones en tails de ci sions about ac tion to be im ple mented. Touch ing stake holder in ter ests, may prove eco nom i cally and po lit i cally costly. There fore, de ci sions should be jus ti fiable, which im plies, among other, re li abil ity of the ra don pri or ity area es ti mate, mean ing statis ti cally, con trol ling for es ti ma tion un cer tainty. Some as pects of ra don pri or ity area def i nition, es ti ma tion, and un cer tainty will be dis cussed in this pa per.

Comparison of radon mapping methods for the delineation of radon priority areas – an exercise

“…The definition of RPA in the EU-BSS allows a wide range of interpretation, and therefore, different concepts and methodologies have been proposed and already adopted in some countries (2,3). Radon maps have existed in several countries for many years as part of national radon strategies even before the new EU-BSS became effective (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10).…”

Application of airborne radiometric surveys for large-scale geogenic radon potential classification

“…5-7). The main goal of radon maps is to delineate areas where high radon concentrations may be expected, in order to 'prioritize' these areas in a National Radon Action Plan (8,9). Radon maps may also be used as a basis for determining if preventive measures are required in new buildings, or if radon measurements are required in workplaces (e.g.…”

“…The definition of Radon Priority Areas (RPAs) is ambiguous and several criteria (not mutually exclusive) may be applied, depending on political, public health, economic, and other decisions (8,11). The European Commission (EC), for example, defines RPAs as 'areas where the radon concentration (as an annual average) in a significant number of buildings is expected to exceed the relevant national reference level' (7).…”

“…grid cells of 10 × 10 km or 1 × 1 km). Bossew (8) has discussed the definition and limitations of RPAs in more detail.…”

“…Since indoor radon behavior in workplaces and domestic dwellings may not be comparable, due to changes in how buildings are used and constructed (e.g. [22][23][24], the applicability of indoor radon maps for legislation in workplaces and public buildings may therefore be questionable (8). Maps that do not depend on building characteristics (e.g.…”