Radon Awareness among Saudi People in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

People should be aware of sources of health hazards, such as radon gas; and efforts should be made to educate them. Radon awareness among people is important for monitoring its level in their residential houses to reduce the risk of ad-verse health effects. Furthermore, radon awareness among public would support and facilitate researchers working for such surveys during the field work. In the present study, a public survey was conducted to investigate radon awareness level among Saudi people in Riyadh. A questionnaire was designed and distributed among 2297 persons of various educational background. It was found that about 82% of the Saudi public in Riyadh were ignorant of radon and its associated health risks. It was also found that only ~18% of educated public knew about radon. It was concluded that Saudi public needs to be educated in this respect properly.

Share and Cite:

A. Alaamer, "Radon Awareness among Saudi People in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia," World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, Vol. 2 No. 4, 2012, pp. 165-168. doi: 10.4236/wjnst.2012.24025.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] K. N. Yu, Z. J. Guan, M. J. Stokes and E. C. M. Young, “A Preliminary Study on the Radon Concentrations in Water in Hong Kong and the Associated Health Effects,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 45, No. 7, 1994, pp. 809-810. doi:10.1016/0969-8043(94)90133-3
[2] M. J. Barnett, K. E. Holbert, B. D. Stewart and W. K. Hood, “Lung Dose Estimates from Radon in Arizona Ground Water Based on Liquid Scintillation Measurements,” Health Physics, Vol. 68, No. 5, 1995, pp. 699703. doi:10.1097/00004032-199505000-00010
[3] Z. A. Tayyeb, A. R. Kinsara and S. M. Farid, “A Study on the Radon Concentration in Water in Jeddah and Associated Health Effects,” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Vol. 38, No. 1, 1998, pp. 97-104. doi:10.1016/S0265-931X(97)00014-3
[4] S. Oikawa, N. Kanno, T. Sanada, N. Ohashi, M. Uesugi, K. Sato, J. Abukawa and H. Higuchi, “A Nationwide Survey of Outdoor Radon Concentration in Japan,” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Vol. 65, No. 2, 2003, pp. 203213. doi:10.1016/S0265-931X(02)00097-8
[5] M. Galan Lopez, A. Martin Sanchez and V. Gomez Escobar, “Estimates of the Dose Due to Radon-222 Concentrations in Water,” Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Vol. 111, No. 1, 2004, pp. 3-7. doi:10.1093/rpd/nch350
[6] International Commission on Radiological Protection, “Protection against 222Rn at Home and at Work. International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 65,” Annals of the ICRP, Vol. 23, No. 2, 1993.
[7] United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, “Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation,” UNSCEAR Report to the General Assembly. New York, 1993.
[8] E. S. Ford, C. R. Eheman, P. Z. Siegal and P. L. Garbe, “Radon Awareness and Testing Behavior: Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 19891992,” Health Physics, Vol. 70, No. 3, 1996, pp. 363-366. doi:10.1097/00004032-199603000-00006
[9] Y. Wang, C. Ju, A. D. Stark and N. Teresi, “Radon Awareness, Testing, and Remediation Survey among New York State Residents,” Health Physics, Vol. 78, No. 6, 2000, pp. 641-647. doi:10.1097/00004032-200006000-00006
[10] B. Gregory and P.P. Jalbert, “National Radon Results: 1985 to 2003,” US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, 2003,
[11] B. Le′ vesque, D. Gauvin, R. G. McGregor, R. Martel, S. Gingras, A. Dontigny, W. B. Walker, P. Lajoie and E. Letourneau, “Radon in Residences: Influences of Geological and Housing Characteristics,” Health Physics, Vol. 72, No. 6, 1997, pp. 907-914.
[12] F. Abu-Jarad and Al-Jarallah, M.I., “Radon Activity in Saudi Houses,” Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Vol. 14, 1986, pp. 243-249.
[13] F. Abu-Jarad, M. I. Fazal-ur-Rehman, Al-Jarallah and A. Al-Shukri, “Indoor Radon Survey in Dwellings of Nine Cities of the Eastern and the Western Provinces of Saudi Arabia,” Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Vol. 106, No. 3, 2003, pp. 227-232. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a006353
[14] M. S. Garawi, “Measurement of Radon Concentration in Private Houses in the Eastern Part of AL-Qaseem Province of Saudi Arabia,” Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Vol. 63, No. 3, 1996, pp. 227-230. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a031534
[15] M. I. Al-Jarallah and Fazal-ur-Rehman, “Indoor Radon Concentration Measurement in the Dwellings of Al-Jauf Region of Saudi Arabia,” Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Vol. 121, No. 3, 2006, pp. 293-296. doi:10.1093/rpd/ncl023
[16] F. S. Al-Saleh, Kh. A. Zarie, Kh. Al-Magran and M.S. Sharaf, “Measurements of Radon Concentration and Exhalation Rate from Some Construction Materials Used in Riyadh Region (KSA),” Isotopes and Radiation Research, Vol. 33, 2001, pp. 261-265.
[17] F. S. Al-Saleh, “Measurements of Indoor Gamma Radiation and Radon Concentrations in Dwellings of Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 65, No. 7, 2007, pp. 843-848. doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2007.01.021
[18] S. Rahman, M. Faheem, S. Rehman and Matiullah, “Radon Awareness in Pakistan,” Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Vol. 121, No. 3, 2006, pp. 333-336. doi:10.1093/rpd/ncl021

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.