• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제47권4호
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• pp.237-245
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• 2022

Background: The current study reports measurements of activity concentrations of radon (²²⁰Rn) and thoron (²²⁰Rn) in dwellings, followed by inhalation dose assessment of the public, and then by the development of regulation and the national radon action plan (NRAP) in Cameroon. Materials and Methods: Radon, thoron, and thoron progeny measurements were carried out from 2014 to 2017 using radon-thoron discriminative detectors (commercially RADUET) in 450 dwellings and thoron progeny monitors in 350 dwellings. From 2019 to 2020, radon track detectors (commercially RADTRAK) were deployed in 1,400 dwellings. It was found that activity concentrations of radon range in 1,850 houses from 10 to 2,620 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 76 Bq/㎥. Results and Discussion: Activity concentrations of thoron range from 20 to 700 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 107 Bq/㎥. Thoron equilibrium factor ranges from 0.01 to 0.6, with an arithmetic mean of 0.09 that is higher than the default value of 0.02 given by UNSCEAR. On average, 49%, 9%, and 2% of all surveyed houses have radon concentrations above 100, 200, and 300 Bq/㎥, respectively. The average contribution of thoron to the inhalation dose due to radon and thoron exposure is about 40%. Thus, thoron cannot be neglected in dose assessment to avoid biased results in radio-epidemiological studies. Only radon was considered in the drafted regulation and in the NRAP adopted in October 2020. Reference levels of 300 Bq/㎥ and 1,000 Bq/㎥ were recommended for dwellings and workplaces. Conclusion: Priority actions for the coming years include the following: radon risk mapping, promotion of a protection policy against radon in buildings, integration of the radon prevention and mitigation into the training of construction specialists, mitigation of dwellings and workplaces with high radon levels, increased public awareness of the health risks associated with radon, and development of programs on the scientific and technical aspects.

• 한국환경독성학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국환경독성학회 2003년도 추계국제학술대회
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• pp.169-169
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• 2003

In Korea, there is no CRA studies and has not well known CRA and not well established their methodologies. Therefore, objectives of this study is to establish the framework of CRA consisting of health risk, economic risk and perceived risk and the detail methodologies of three main component of estimating and comparing those risks for on the three environmental problems of air pollution, indoor air pollution and drinking water contamination which being subjective to the eight sub-problems of hazardous ai. pollutants (HAPs), regulated pollutants (representative as PM10) and Dioxins (PCDDS/ PCDFs) in air pollution, and indoor ai. pollutants (IAPs) and Radon in indoor air pollution, and drinking water pollutants (DWPs), disinfection-by- products(DBPs) and radionuclides in drinking water contamination in Seoul, Korea. And then, their problems set priorities by individual and integrated risk. As a results, ranking of health risk were the following order of indoor air pollution, air pollution and then drinking water contamination, in three environmental problems and of radon, PM10, IAPs, HAPs, DWPs, Dioxins, DBPs, and then radionuclides in eight sub-problems. And that of economic risk were the same order. In the contrary, ranking of perceived risk were the following order of air pollution, drinking water contamination, and then indoor air pollution, and of HAPs, Dioxins, radionuclides, PM10, DWPs, IAPs, Radon and then DBPs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제40권7호
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• pp.539-550
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• 2008

Lung cancer is the most prevalent global cancer, ${\sim}90%$ of which is caused by cigarette smoking. The LNT hypothesis has been inappropriately applied to estimate lung cancer risk due to ionizing radiation. A threshold of ${\sim}1\;Gy$ for lung cancer has been observed in never smokers. Lung cancer risk among nuclear workers, radiologists and diagnostically exposed patients was typically reduced by ${\sim}40%$ following exposure to <100 mSv low LET radiation. The consistency and magnitude of reduced lung cancer in nuclear workers and occurrence of reduced lung cancer in exposed non-worker populations could not be explained by the HWE. Ecologic studies of indoor radon showed highly significant reductions in lung cancer risk. A similar reduction in lung cancer was seen in a recent well designed case-control study of indoor radon, indicating that exposure to radon at the EPA action level is associated with a decrease of ${\sim}60%$ in lung cancer. A cumulative whole-body dose of ${\sim}1\;Gy$ gamma rays is associated with a marked decrease in smoking-induced lung cancer in plutonium workers. Low dose, low LET radiation appears to increase apoptosis mediated removal of $\alpha$-particle and cigarette smoke transformed pulmonary cells before they can develop into lung cancer.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.273-284
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• 2002

At present, the health risks associated with the natural radionuclides of ground water have become a concern as potential social problems. However, there are no regulatory actions or control strategies for such risks. Therefore, we have investigated and discussed the risks and associated management strategies for radionuclides in other countries. US EPA has proposed MCL (300 pCi/L) and AMCL (4,000 pCi/L) for radon, and 30 ppb for uranium, 15 pCi/L for gross-alpha and 5 pCi/L for radium as final MCLs. Also, Canada, WHO and European countries have their inherent management levels. Finally, we suggested several criteria for setting guidelines in our countries including exposure related criteria such as geological distribution, occurrence, exposure probability distribution, exposure population and multimedia exposure assessment, acceptable risk, and cost -benefit analysis. The national-scale exposure and risk assessment, and economic analysis should be conducted for producing and aggregating the representative information on these criteria.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.245-255
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• 2020

Objective: The present study analyzed domestic and overseas academic journals to understand the research status and characteristics of radon concentration distribution in Korea in accordance with environmental conditions. Methods: As part of the meta-analysis, pooled average concentration was calculated using an inverse variance-weighted average of the arithmetic means and standard deviations among the investigated values. Using the obtained pooled average concentration, a Monte-Carlo simulation was performed to increase the reliability of the occurrence possibility of the calculated concentration distribution. A total of 38 research articles were selected, including 27 articles published in domestic academic journals and 11 articles published in foreign academic journals. Results: The comparison results showed differences in radon concentration distribution in accordance with regional and topographical characteristics. Conclusion: Currently, even though research into radon is steadily picking up the pace in Korea much remains to be done. Additional research is thus needed to establish a baseline for radon emissions in Korea.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.121-126
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• 2002

본 연구는 지하수로부터 방출되어 가옥의 실내에 존재하는 라돈에 의한 체내축적량을 현실적으로 평가하는 방법을 보여준다. 먼저 지하수로부터 실내공기로 전달되는 과정을 모의하기 위해 2_구역모델을 개발하였다. 이 모델은 실내에서 발생하는 생활활동, 즉, 목욕, 세수, 세탁, 변기에서의 물사용에 의해 실내로 휘발, 이동하는 시간에 따를 라돈농도분포를 계산한다. 다음, 이 모델의 불확실성이 존재하는 입력인자들에 대해 불확실성분석을 수행하여 최종 실내라돈 농도분포를 결정하였다. 그리고 이러한 실내 라돈을 호흡하여 체내에 축적되는 양을 보다 정량적으로 모의하기 위해 PBPK 모델을 개발하였다. 불확실성이 포함된 라돈농도분포와 정량적인 체내축적모의를 위한 PBPK 모델의 결합으로 보다 현실적인 라돈의 체내축적량을 분석할 수 있다. 이러한 연구의 결과는 지하수로부터 발생하는 라돈에 의한 인체위해평가시 도움을 주리라고 판단된다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권6호
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• pp.668-674
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• 2019

Objectives: Modern people spend most of their day indoors. As the health impact of radon becomes an issue, public interest also has been growing. The primary route of potential human exposure to radon is inhalation. Long-term exposure to high levels of radon increases the risk of developing lung cancer. Radon exposure is known to be the second-leading cause of lung cancer, following tobacco smoke. This study measures the indoor radon concentrations in detached houses in area A of Chungcheongbuk-do Province considering the construction year, cracks in the houses, the location of installed detectors, and seasonal effects. Methods: The survey was conducted from September 2017 to April 2018 on 1,872 private households located in selected areas in northern Chungcheongbuk-do Province to figure out the year of building construction and the location of detector installed and identify the factors which affect radon concentrations in the air within the building. Radon was measured using a manual alpha track detector (Raduet, Hungary) with a sampling period of longer than 90 days. Results: Indoor radon concentrations in winter within area A was surveyed to be 168.3±193.3 Bq/㎥. There was more than a 2.3 times difference between buildings built before 1979 and those built after 2010. The concentration reached 195.4±221.9 Bq/㎥ for buildings with fractures and 167.2±192.4 Bq/㎥ for buildings without fractures. It was found that detectors installed in household areas with windows exhibited a lower concentration than those installed in concealed spaces. Conclusion: High concentrations of indoor radon were shown when there was a crack in the house. Also, ventilation seems to significantly affect radon concentrations because when the location of the detector in the installed site was near windows compared to an enclosed area, radon concentration variation increased. Therefore, it is considered that radon concentration is lower in summer because natural ventilation occurs more often than in winter.

• Journal of health informatics and statistics
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.309-316
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• 2017

라돈 및 그 자손은 폐암을 일으키는 환경적 위험인자로, 일상 활동 및 수면 등으로 많은 시간을 보내는 실내 라돈 농도 관리는 필수적이다. 이를 위해서는, 주거지를 둘러싼 개인적, 사회적, 환경적 요소에 대한 총체적 접근이 필요하다. 따라서 본 연구는 실내 라돈 농도에 영향을 미치는 다양한 인자를 찾아내고, 이를 활용한 포괄적 모델을 구축하고자 한다. 건축 자재 및 생활 양식을 포함한 주거 환경에 대한 자료를 얻기 위해 설문을 실시하였고, 의사결정트리 및 구조 방정식 모델링을 활용하였다. 그 결과 주거지 주변 녹지 비율, 불 투과성 층 비율, 주택과 지면의 맞닿은 상태, 매일 환기 습관, 난방 습관, 측정 장치 주위의 균열 및 침실여부는 실내 라돈 농도와 유의한 연관성을 보였다. 매일 환기 습관을 가질 경우 실내 라돈 농도가 $200Bq/m^3$ 이상인 비율이 11.6%로 줄었다. 한편 매일 환기습관이 없는 주거자의 주거지 주변 녹지 비율이 65% 이상이면 매일 환기 습관이 있는 주거자와 비교하여 15.3%의 비율이 증가하였다. 구축된 포괄적 모델의 실내 라돈 농도에 직접 영향을 미치는 인자는 주거지 주변 녹지 비율과 환기율이었다. 제시된 모델로 국내 라돈 농도에 대한 개인의 지리적 특성, 지하수 및 생활 양식 요소의 결합된 영향을 확인할 수 있었다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권10호
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• pp.2370-2378
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• 2020

Building materials contribute significantly to the indoor radon and thoron levels. Therefore, parameters that influence the exhalation rates of radon and thoron from building material need to be analyzed closely. As a preliminary study, the effects of humidity on exhalation rates were measured using a system with an accumulation chamber and RAD7 detector for Korean brick, Korean soil, and Indonesian brick. Resulting doses to a person who resides in a room constructed from the building materials were assessed by UNSCEAR method for different air exchange rates. The measurements have revealed that Korean brick exhaled the highest radon and thoron while Indonesian brick exhaled the lowest thoron. Results showed that for a typical low dense material, radon and thoron exhalation rate will increase until reached its maximum at a certain value of humidity and will remain saturated above it. Analysis on concentration and effective dose showed that radon is strongly affected by air exchange rate (ACH). This is showed by about 66 times decrease of radon dose from 0.00 h^-1 to those of 0.50 h^-1 ACH and decrease by a factor of 2 from 0.50 h^-1 to those of 0.80 h^-1. In case of thoron, the ACH doesn't have significant effects on effective dose.

• 한국건축시공학회지
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.59-65
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• 2018

라돈가스는 암석이나 토양 등에 존재하는 자연 방사성 물질인 우라늄이 붕괴할 때 발생하는 무색, 무취, 무미의 가스이다. 인체가 연간 노출되는 방사선의 85%는 자연 방사선에 의한 것이고, 그 중 50%가 라돈가스이다. 미국 환경보호청(EPA)의 조사결과에 의하면, 라돈가스에 장시간 노출될 경우 흡연자는 1,000명 중 62명, 비흡연자는 1,000명 중 7명이 폐암 발병률에 노출된다. 이러한 라돈가스의 위해성을 저감하고자 활성탄소를 사용하여 경화체를 제작하여 그에 대한 공극 특성과 라돈가스 저감 특성에 대한 실험을 진행하였다. 활성탄소를 활용하였을 경우, 측정기간이 길어질수록 라돈가스 농도는 급격한 저감과 그래프 상의 변화를 확인할 수 있었다. 또한 활성탄소의 재료적 특성 중 하나인 공극 분포와 미세공 특성을 파악할 수 있다.