Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2023 |
Outros Autores: | , , , , , |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | https://hdl.handle.net/10216/153988 |
Resumo: | Radon is a carcinogenic compound, and is particularly concerning in the education sector, where children and teachers may be exposed even longer than at home. Thus, this study intended to characterise radon in the indoor air of scholar environments in different provinces/districts of the Euroregion Galicia-Norte de Portugal. With a pioneering approach, this study evaluated the influence of specific factors/characteristics (location, type of management, construction material, season and floor within the building) and quantified their relative contribution to indoor radon levels. Radon was continuously monitored in 416 classrooms from school buildings located in urban and rural sites from different provinces/districts both in the regions of Galicia (A Coruna and Lugo provinces) and Portugal (Porto and Braganca districts), considering rooms for different age groups (from nursery schools to universi-ties). Single and multivariate linear regression models were built considering the radon concentrations as the outcome variable and different room/building characteristics as predictor variables. Mean and median radon concentrations were 332 Bq m-3 and 181 Bq m-3, respectively. The radon concentrations observed are a public health concern, as almost 1/3 of the places monitored exceeded the reference limit value of the European legislation (300 Bq m-3). More-over, around 50 % of the indoor levels measured could be attributed to room/building characteristics: the building's location and the main construction material, as well as the occupants' age group, the floor within the building and the school's type of management (public/private). This study concluded that radon testing is needed in all school build-ings and classrooms without exceptions. Thus, public administrations are urged to dedicate funds for testing, mitigation and public dissemination initiatives in schools. A special protocol for radon sampling in school buildings should also be developed. |
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Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal EuroregionRadon is a carcinogenic compound, and is particularly concerning in the education sector, where children and teachers may be exposed even longer than at home. Thus, this study intended to characterise radon in the indoor air of scholar environments in different provinces/districts of the Euroregion Galicia-Norte de Portugal. With a pioneering approach, this study evaluated the influence of specific factors/characteristics (location, type of management, construction material, season and floor within the building) and quantified their relative contribution to indoor radon levels. Radon was continuously monitored in 416 classrooms from school buildings located in urban and rural sites from different provinces/districts both in the regions of Galicia (A Coruna and Lugo provinces) and Portugal (Porto and Braganca districts), considering rooms for different age groups (from nursery schools to universi-ties). Single and multivariate linear regression models were built considering the radon concentrations as the outcome variable and different room/building characteristics as predictor variables. Mean and median radon concentrations were 332 Bq m-3 and 181 Bq m-3, respectively. The radon concentrations observed are a public health concern, as almost 1/3 of the places monitored exceeded the reference limit value of the European legislation (300 Bq m-3). More-over, around 50 % of the indoor levels measured could be attributed to room/building characteristics: the building's location and the main construction material, as well as the occupants' age group, the floor within the building and the school's type of management (public/private). This study concluded that radon testing is needed in all school build-ings and classrooms without exceptions. Thus, public administrations are urged to dedicate funds for testing, mitigation and public dissemination initiatives in schools. A special protocol for radon sampling in school buildings should also be developed.20232023-01-01T00:00:00Zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/10216/153988eng0048-969710.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163566Branco, PTBSMartin Gisbert, LJuliana SáRuano Ravina, ABarros Dios, JVarela Lema, LSousa, SIVinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAP2023-11-29T15:22:26Zoai:repositorio-aberto.up.pt:10216/153988Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-20T00:22:00.488364Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion |
title |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion |
spellingShingle |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion Branco, PTBS |
title_short |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion |
title_full |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion |
title_fullStr |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion |
title_full_unstemmed |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion |
title_sort |
Quantifying indoor radon levels and determinants in schools: A case study in the radon-prone area Galicia-Norte de Portugal Euroregion |
author |
Branco, PTBS |
author_facet |
Branco, PTBS Martin Gisbert, L Juliana Sá Ruano Ravina, A Barros Dios, J Varela Lema, L Sousa, SIV |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Martin Gisbert, L Juliana Sá Ruano Ravina, A Barros Dios, J Varela Lema, L Sousa, SIV |
author2_role |
author author author author author author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Branco, PTBS Martin Gisbert, L Juliana Sá Ruano Ravina, A Barros Dios, J Varela Lema, L Sousa, SIV |
description |
Radon is a carcinogenic compound, and is particularly concerning in the education sector, where children and teachers may be exposed even longer than at home. Thus, this study intended to characterise radon in the indoor air of scholar environments in different provinces/districts of the Euroregion Galicia-Norte de Portugal. With a pioneering approach, this study evaluated the influence of specific factors/characteristics (location, type of management, construction material, season and floor within the building) and quantified their relative contribution to indoor radon levels. Radon was continuously monitored in 416 classrooms from school buildings located in urban and rural sites from different provinces/districts both in the regions of Galicia (A Coruna and Lugo provinces) and Portugal (Porto and Braganca districts), considering rooms for different age groups (from nursery schools to universi-ties). Single and multivariate linear regression models were built considering the radon concentrations as the outcome variable and different room/building characteristics as predictor variables. Mean and median radon concentrations were 332 Bq m-3 and 181 Bq m-3, respectively. The radon concentrations observed are a public health concern, as almost 1/3 of the places monitored exceeded the reference limit value of the European legislation (300 Bq m-3). More-over, around 50 % of the indoor levels measured could be attributed to room/building characteristics: the building's location and the main construction material, as well as the occupants' age group, the floor within the building and the school's type of management (public/private). This study concluded that radon testing is needed in all school build-ings and classrooms without exceptions. Thus, public administrations are urged to dedicate funds for testing, mitigation and public dissemination initiatives in schools. A special protocol for radon sampling in school buildings should also be developed. |
publishDate |
2023 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2023 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/153988 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/153988 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
0048-9697 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163566 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação instacron:RCAAP |
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Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
instacron_str |
RCAAP |
institution |
RCAAP |
reponame_str |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
collection |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
repository.mail.fl_str_mv |
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1799136136170307584 |