Occupational exposure to radon for underground tourist routes in Poland: Doses to lung and the risk of developing lung cancer

• Authors: Katarzyna Walczak , Jerzy Olszewski , Piotr Politański , Marek Zmyślony

Abstracts

EN

Objectives Radon concentrations for 31 Polish underground tourist routes were analyzed. The equivalent dose to the lung, the effective dose and the relative risk were calculated for employees of the analyzed routes on the grounds of information on radon concentrations, work time, etc. Material and Methods The relative risk for lung cancers was calculated using the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VI Committee model. Equivalent doses to the lungs of workers were determined using the coefficients calculated by the Kendall and Smith. The conversion coefficient proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the report No. 33 was used for estimating the effective doses. Results In 13 routes, the effective dose was found to be above 1 mSv/year, and in 3 routes, it exceeded 6 mSv/year. For 5 routes, the equivalent dose to lungs was higher than 100 mSv/year, and in 1 case it was as high as 490 mSv/year. In 22.6% of underground workplaces the risk of developing lung cancer among employees was about 2 times higher than that for the general population, and for 1 tourist route it was about 5 times higher. The geometric mean of the relative risk of lung cancer for all workers of underground tourist routes was 1.73 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6–1.87). Routes were divided into: caves, mines, post-military underground constructions and urban underground constructions. Conclusions The difference between levels of the relative risk of developing lung cancer for all types of underground tourist routes was not found to be significant. If we include the professional group of the employees of underground tourist routes into the group of occupational exposure, the number of persons who are included in the Category A due to occupational exposure may increase by about 3/4. The professional group of the employees of underground tourist routes should be monitored for their exposure to radon. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(5):687–694

Keywords

EN

occupational exposure; radon; effective dose; relative risk of lung cancer; equivalent dose to lung; underground tourist routes

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 687-694

Dates

published

2017

Contributors

author

Katarzyna Walczak

• Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Department of Radiological Protection)

author

Jerzy Olszewski

• Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Department of Radiological Protection)

author

Piotr Politański

• Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Department of Radiological Protection)

author

Marek Zmyślony

• Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Department of Radiological Protection)

Identifiers

DOI

10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00987

Biblioteka Nauki

2161885