Table 2.
Summary of indoor radon concentrations in homes throughout Korea
| no | Institution[ref] | Period | Area | No. of dwellings | 222Rn (Bq/m3) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM(SD) | GM(SD) | Median (Min, Max) | Excessive rate (ER)a (%) | |||||
| 1 | KINS [25] | 1988 (winter) | 7 citiesc | 530 | 99.9(-) | - | 88.8(-) | 16.0 |
| 2 | KAERI [26] | 1990.4–1990.10 | Nationwide | 340 | 59.57(-) | - | 48.90 (-) | - |
| 3 | NIH [27–29] | 1993 | Nationwide | 34 | 27.75(4.07) | - | -(8.14, 99.9) | - |
| 4 | ||||||||
| 5 | 1994.9–12 | Seoul | 410 | 18.9(10.7) | - | 19.70 (9.3, 30.7) | - | |
| 6 | 1995.9–12 | Northern area of Gyeonggi | 197 | 34.6(4.1) | - | -(18.5, 54.0) | - | |
| 7 | KFDA [30, 31] | 1996.9–11 | Southern area of Gyeonggi | 384 | 29.4(19.4) | - | -(7.4, 132.8) | - |
| 8 | 1997.8–11 | Incheon, Daejeon, Chungnam, Chungbuk | 590 | Incheon: 8.0(10.9) | - | Incheon: (2.7, 89.7) | - | |
| Daejeon: 25.0(12.6) | Daejeon: (5.7, 82.2) | |||||||
| Chungnam: 32.1(21.5) | Chungnam: (4.9, 145.7) | |||||||
| Chungbuk: 20.0(20.3) | Chungbuk: (2.7, 131.6) | |||||||
| 9 | KINS [67] | 1999.12–2000.11 | Nationwide | 2,190 | 53.4(57.5) | 43.3(1.8) | 39.8 (13.6, 1,350) | 1.7 (200b) |
| 10 | KINS [33] | 2002–2004 | Nationwide | 450 | 40.4(56.0) | 10.7(2.9) | 25.4 (-, 731) | - |
| 11 | NIER [34] | 2011.12–2012.5 | Nationwide | 7,885 | 124.9(144.7) | 91.2(2.1) | 85.7 (7.0, 2,821.3) | 22.2 |
| 12 | NIER [35] | 2013.11–2014.4 | Nationwide | 6,648 | 102.0(114.2) | 74.9(2.0) | 68.0 (9.8, 1,936.6) | 16.3 |
| ‘12 highest radon level A area | 1,737 | 155.0(167.8) | 107.4(1.1) | 99.3 (7.4, 1,956.5) | 32.1 | |||
| 13 | CRIPHE [32] | 2013.11–2014.3 | Chungnam 5 province | 114 | 92.5(-) | - | -(9.6, 640.4) | 15.8 |
aER is 148 Bq/m3 of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) recommended action level; b200 Bq/m3 of the recommended value in International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 65; cseven cities include Seoul, Chuncheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, Pusan, and Jeju.
AM arithmetic mean, SD standard deviation, GM geometric mean, Min minimum, Max maximum, KINS Korea institute of nuclear safety, KAERI Korea atomic energy research institute, NIH national institute of health, KFDA Korea food and drug safety, NIER national institute of environmental research, CRIPHE Chungnam research institute public health and environment