[Information and involvement in health risks exemplified by a radon survey program].
As part of a large-scale radon testing program in homes for the region of the Southern Districts of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) planned by the then West German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Natural Conservation and Reactor Safety and carried out by the Institute of Water, Soil and Air Hygiene (WaBoLu) of the West German Federal Health Office (BGA) in cooperation with the West German Federal Office for Environmental Protection (BfS) and the East German State Office for Atomic Safety (SAAS), the author (then employed at WaBoLu) was responsible for conducting the radon testing in the town of Schlema near the Czechoslovakian border in Southern Saxony. During preparatory work in this town in the fall of 1990, the author noted that the local population was very concerned about their potential radon problem. In the months previously, reports in newspapers and television had frequently pointed out the dangers to health of living in this region, often citing examples of particularly high radon levels from the area. Before the "opening" of the GDR to a free press in the fall of 1989, the local population had heard virtually nothing from the authorities about radon--neither of the possible health risk in general, nor of their own personal radon levels at home. This, together with the lack of experience of East Germans generally to evaluate critically and objectively information from the free press, had led to particularly high levels of anxiety and worry among the local population, even before radon concentrations in homes were known. In the light of these circumstances, the author decided to carry out the radon program with the help of the local school children. These children, aged 13 to 17, were entrusted with the task of carrying out the radon testing using a simple method developed by WaBoLu in all homes of the town. In class, they were informed not only about this testing method, but also about radon generally. It was hoped that, while testing in homes, the school children would pass on this knowledge to the homeowners and thus act as informal "multipliers" of correct information about radon. The approach taken is an example of how environmental hygiene and prevention-oriented environmental medicine could better handle environmental health risks that can be influenced by the individual. It is necessary to become more aware of the fact that all information intended to motivate individuals to protect themselves against environmental health risks may cause at the same time high levels of anxiety.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D003256:Community Participation; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011886:Radon / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012307:Risk Factors
D011886:Radon