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Estimation of Seasonal Correction Factors for Indoor Radon Concentrations in Korea

Author

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  • Ji Hyun Park

    (Department of Mathematics, Ajou University, Suwon 16490, Korea)

  • Cheol Min Lee

    (Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, SeoKyeong University, Seoul 02713, Korea)

  • Hyun Young Lee

    (Department of Statistics, Clinical Trial Center, Ajou University Medical Center, Suwon 16499, Korea)

  • Dae Ryong Kang

    (Center of Biomedical Data Science/Institute of Genomic Cohort, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju 26426, Korea)

Abstract

Long-term exposure to high radon concentration exerts pathological effects and elicits changes in respiratory function, increasing an individual’s risk of developing lung cancer. In health risk assessment of indoor radon, consideration of long-term exposure thereto is necessary to identify a relationship between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer. However, measuring long-term indoor radon concentration can be difficult, and a statistical model for predicting mean annual indoor radon concentrations may be readily applicable. We investigated the predictability of mean annual radon concentrations using national data on indoor radon concentrations throughout the spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons in Korea. Indoor radon concentrations in Korea were highest in the winter and lowest in the summer. We derived seasonal correction and seasonal adjustment factors for each season based on the method proposed by previous study. However, these factors may not be readily applicable unless measured in a specific season. In this paper, we separate seasonal correction factors for each month of the year (new correction factors) based on correlations between indoor radon and meteorological factors according to housing type. To evaluate the correction factors, we assessed differences between estimated and measured mean annual radon concentrations. Roughly 97% of the estimated values were within ±40 Bq/m 3 of actual measured values in detached houses, and roughly 85–87% of the estimated values were within ±40 Bq/m 3 of the measured values in other residences. In most cases, the seasonal correction factors and the new correction factors had slightly better agreement than the seasonal adjustment factor. For predicting mean annual radon concentrations, the seasonal correction factors or seasonal adjustment factors can be of use when actual measurements of indoor radon concentrations for a specific season are available. Otherwise, the new correction factors may be more readily applicable.

Suggested Citation

  • Ji Hyun Park & Cheol Min Lee & Hyun Young Lee & Dae Ryong Kang, 2018. "Estimation of Seasonal Correction Factors for Indoor Radon Concentrations in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-13, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:10:p:2251-:d:175644
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ji Hyun Park & Cheol Min Lee & Dae Ryong Kang, 2019. "A Deterministic Model for Estimating Indoor Radon Concentrations in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-8, September.
    2. Eung Joo Park & Hokyou Lee & Hyeon Chang Kim & Seung Soo Sheen & Sang Baek Koh & Ki Soo Park & Nam Han Cho & Cheol-Min Lee & Dae Ryong Kang, 2020. "Residential Radon Exposure and Cigarette Smoking in Association with Lung Cancer: A Matched Case-Control Study in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-9, April.
    3. Mohammademad Adelikhah & Amin Shahrokhi & Morteza Imani & Stanislaw Chalupnik & Tibor Kovács, 2020. "Radiological Assessment of Indoor Radon and Thoron Concentrations and Indoor Radon Map of Dwellings in Mashhad, Iran," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-15, December.

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