An Extended Study on the Correlation between 210Pb in Household Dust and Indoor Radon Concentration

Radon and its progeny have been identified as the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking. Radon decays to a long-lived isotope, 210Pb, with a half-life of about 22 years. Measuring concentrations of 210Pb in household dust could be an alternative method of determining indoor radon levels. A previous study conducted in 2008 demonstrated that 210Pb concentrations in household dust correlate reasonably well to radon concentrations in homes. To confirm the viability of this retrospective method, a field experiment was repeated in 2010 to further study the correlation between 210Pb in household dust and indoor radon concentration. The results showed that 210Pb is a reasonably good indicator of long-term radon exposure indoors when dust samples collected are representative of household dust in a house.