A Pilot Study to Examine Exposure to Residential Radon in Under-Sampled Census Tracts of DeKalb County, Georgia, in 2015.
While DeKalb County, Georgia, offers free radon screening for all eligible residents, portions of the county remain relatively under-sampled. This pilot study focused on 10% of the census tracts in the county with the lowest proportion of radon testing; most were in southern DeKalb County. In total, 217 households were recruited and homes were tested for indoor radon concentrations on the lowest livable floor over an eight-week period from March-May 2015. Tract-level characteristics were examined to understand the differences in socio-demographic and economic factors between the pilot study area and the rest of the county. The pilot study tracts had a higher proportion of African Americans compared to the rest of DeKalb County (82% versus 47%). Radon was detected above 11.1 Bq/m³ (0.3 pCi/L) in 73% of the indoor samples and 4% of samples were above 148 Bq/m³ (4 pCi/L). Having a basement was the strongest predictive factor for detectable and hazardous levels of radon. Radon screening can identify problems and spur homeowners to remediate but more research should be done to identify why screening rates vary across the county and how that varies with radon levels in homes to reduce radon exposure.
School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. cstauber@gsu.edu.
Christine E
CE
Stauber
Department of Geosciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. ddai@gsu.edu.
Dajun
D
Dai
School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. sydney.chan1@gmail.com.
Sydney R
SR
Chan
Department of Geosciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. jdiem@gsu.edu.
Jeremy E
JE
Diem
School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. srweaver@gsu.edu.
Scott R
SR
Weaver
School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. rrothenberg@gsu.edu.
Richard
R
Rothenberg
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D019352:Censuses; D002648:Child; D005845:Georgia; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects; D000069079:Radiation Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*
D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011886:Radon
housing characteristics; human exposure assessment; radon