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Radon-222: environmental behavior and impact to (human and non-human) biota

  • Special Issue: Atmospheric Electricity and Biometeorology
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Abstract

As an inert radioactive gas, 222Rn could be easily transported to the atmosphere via emanation, migration, or exhalation. Research measurements pointed out that 222Rn activity concentration changes during the winter and summer months, as well as during wet and dry season periods. Changes in radon concentration can affect the atmospheric electric field. At the boundary layer near the ground, short-lived daughters of 222Rn can be used as natural tracers in the atmosphere. In this work, factors controlling 222Rn pathways in the environment and its levels in soil gas and outdoor air are summarized. 222Rn has a short half-life of 3.82 days, but the dose rate due to radon and its radioactive progeny could be significant to the living beings. Epidemiological studies on humans pointed out that up to 14% of lung cancers are induced by exposure to low and moderate concentrations of radon. Animals that breed in ground holes have been exposed to the higher doses due to radiation present in soil air. During the years, different dose-effect models are developed for risk assessment on human and non-human biota. In this work are reviewed research results of 222Rn exposure of human and non-human biota.

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Acknowledgements

This article is based upon work from COST Action (CA15211), supported by European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). This work is also supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (project III43009).

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  1. University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, POB 522, Belgrade, Serbia

    Mirjana Ćujić, Ljiljana Janković Mandić, Jelena Petrović & Snežana Dragović

  2. Department of Geography, University of Niš, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, POB 224, Niš, Serbia

    Ranko Dragović, Milan Đorđević & Mrđan Đokić

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Ćujić, M., Janković Mandić, L., Petrović, J. et al. Radon-222: environmental behavior and impact to (human and non-human) biota. Int J Biometeorol 65, 69–83 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-01860-w

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