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Doses from radon and its decay products to children

G M Kendall1, T J Smith

  • 1Health Protection Agency, Radiation Protection Division, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Didcot, Oxon, UK. gerry.kendall@hpa-rp.org.uk

Journal of Radiological Protection : Official Journal of the Society for Radiological Protection
|November 16, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Children and infants may receive higher organ doses from inhaled or ingested radon and its decay products than adults. Despite larger dose coefficients, total annual radon exposure is similar across age groups due to lower intake volumes.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Radiological Protection
  • Pediatric Health

Background:

  • Radon and its decay products are ubiquitous indoor airborne pollutants.
  • Understanding radiation dose in children is crucial for accurate risk assessment.
  • Previous studies have primarily focused on adult populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify and compare radiation doses from radon and its decay products in infants and children.
  • To evaluate organ-specific doses following inhalation, ingestion, and dermal exposure.
  • To discuss the radiological significance of these doses in pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

  • Dose assessment for one-year-old infants and ten-year-old children.
  • Consideration of inhalation, ingestion, and skin deposition pathways.
  • Comparison of dose coefficients and total annual doses across age groups.

Main Results:

  • Organ dose patterns for inhalation/ingestion are similar to adults, with primary doses to the organ of intake.
  • Tissues with higher fat content receive higher doses from radon gas.
  • Dose coefficients for children are generally larger than for adults, but total annual doses are comparable due to lower intake volumes.

Conclusions:

  • Radon exposure poses risks to children, with potentially higher doses to skin if sensitive cells are exposed.
  • While dose coefficients are higher in children, overall annual doses are similar to adults.
  • Further research is needed to determine the precise location of sensitive cells for skin cancer induction by radon decay products.

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