Indoor Radon Measurements in public and private buildings in the Ciampino municipality and its risk perception assessment

Radon is a natural radioactive gas produced by the decay of its parent nuclide in bearing rocks and soils. Inhalation of radon gas poses a serious risk for human health and the World Health Organization stated the doubtless correlation between long exposure to radon gas and lung cancer. In this context, 76 indoor radon measurements in private and public buildings were performed in the Ciampino municipality. This study was carried out within the framework of the LIFE-Respire project. Indoor radon concentration was measured by using passive nuclear track detectors (CR-39) and analysed using RADOSYS system at INGV Radionuclides laboratory. Measurements were carried out in winter and summer seasons to assess the range of seasonal fluctuations, as recognised elsewhere. Results show a substantial increase of maximum indoor values in winter (up to 1575 Bq/m³) that are two times higher than those measured in the summer period (up to 764 Bq/m³). The annual mean and median values (283 and 203 Bq/m³, respectively) are both below the EU recommended limit of 300 Bq/m³.

Moreover, a questionnaire on radon risk perception was designed for the specific context of the LIFE-Respire project and distributed in a sample of residents and students in the Municipality of Ciampino to measure, among many other aspects, the salience of the hazard, knowledge of the hazard and of hazard mitigation strategies, perceived preparedness of and trust in officials, sources of received information and preferred methods of receiving information, and the level of interest in the project approach (including remediation measures).