Ecologic Measures of Residential Radon
Mean county-level residential radon concentrations were obtained from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (16).
Because long-term residential radon monitoring data in the United States are sparse, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory used a variety of short- and long-term indoor radon monitoring data, along with a variety of geologic, soil, meteorologic, and housing data, to estimate the annual average radon concentrations in the main living areas of homes using an empirically constructed statistical model.
Short-term screening data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency State Residential Radon Survey (mid- to late 1980s) were combined with geologic data, including estimated radium concentrations, and location of screening measurements within the home, along with a short- to long-term radon monitoring data conversion factor, to predict annual average radon concentrations in homes in 3,079 United States counties.
We recently observed a significant positive association between mean county-level residential radon concentrations and lung cancer mortality in the CPS-II (17).