Prediction of indoor radon concentrations in dwellings in the Oslo region – a model based on geographical information systems

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to develop a method to estimate the radon concentration inside each dwelling in the Oslo region, Norway. The model was based on indoor radon measurements from dwellings at predefined distances from the unmeasured dwellings. The results were evaluated by comparing them with actual indoor measurements, airborne gamma ray spectrometry measurements and bedrock geology. It is the first study to evaluate the reliability between estimated indoor radon in each dwelling with airborne measurements (eK, eTh and eU) and underlying geology around the house in a large population. A total of 28 396 indoor radon measurements showed that 42.2% of the dwellings had a radon value higher than the threshold limit of 100 Bq m−3. 18.9% of the dwellings were above the maximum action level of 200 Bq m−3. A positive correlation was found between indoor radon concentration, bedrock geology and airborne gamma measurements (Pearson correlation: eK: 0.42, eTh: 0.67 and eU: 0.65). Highest correlation was found in areas with alum shale (eU: 0.74). Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) showed a good agreement between radon estimates from our method and radon estimates from the regression model with ICC values between 0.54 and 0.67.