A NEW NAS-NRC REPORT - COMPARATIVE RADON DOSIMETRY IN MINES AND HOMES

The findings of the recent report by a National Research Council panel on radon dosimetry are reviewed. The committee was charged with comparing exposure-dose relations for the circumstances of exposures in mines and homes. The committee first obtained data on the various parameters included in dosimetric lung models and then selected values that it judged to be best supported by the available evidence. Dosimetric modelling was used to calculate the ratio of exposure to radon progeny to dose of alpha energy delivered to target cells for various scenarios. The committee's modelling shows that exposure to radon progeny in homes delivers a somewhat lower dose to target cells than exposure in mines; this pattern was found for infants, children, men, and women.