Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Robson DNA Science Centre, Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Department of Oncology, Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 26;14(1):3640. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-53458-6.
Repetitive, long-term inhalation of radioactive radon gas is one of the leading causes of lung cancer, with exposure differences being a function of geographic location, built environment, personal demographics, activity patterns, and decision-making. Here, we examine radon exposure disparities across the urban-to-rural landscape, based on 42,051 Canadian residential properties in 2034 distinct communities. People living in rural, lower population density communities experience as much as 31.2% greater average residential radon levels relative to urban equivalents, equating to an additional 26.7 Bq/m excess in geometric mean indoor air radon, and an additional 1 mSv/year in excess alpha radiation exposure dose rate to the lungs for occupants. Pairwise and multivariate analyses indicate that community-based radon exposure disparities are, in part, explained by increased prevalence of larger floorplan bungalows in rural areas, but that a majority of the effect is attributed to proximity to, but not water use from, drilled groundwater wells. We propose that unintended radon gas migration in the annulus of drilled groundwater wells provides radon migration pathways from the deeper subsurface into near-surface materials. Our findings highlight a previously under-appreciated determinant of radon-induced lung cancer risk, and support a need for targeted radon testing and reduction in rural communities.
长期反复吸入放射性氡气是导致肺癌的主要原因之一，氡气暴露的差异取决于地理位置、建筑环境、个人人口统计学特征、活动模式和决策。在这里，我们根据 2034 年分布在 2034 个不同社区的 42051 个加拿大住宅物业，研究了城市到农村景观中的氡气暴露差异。与城市住宅相比，生活在农村、人口密度较低社区的居民，其住宅氡气平均水平要高出 31.2%，这相当于室内空气氡的几何平均值增加了 26.7 Bq/m，居民肺部的α辐射暴露剂量率增加了 1 mSv/年。成对和多变量分析表明，社区层面的氡气暴露差异部分归因于农村地区更大面积的平房户型更为普遍，但大部分原因是由于与钻取地下水井的距离较近，而不是使用了这些水。我们提出，钻取地下水井的环形空间中无意的氡气迁移为氡气从深层地下向近地表物质迁移提供了途径。我们的研究结果突显了一个以前被低估的氡致肺癌风险决定因素，并支持在农村社区进行有针对性的氡气测试和减少。
