A review of radon pollution in buildings in Hong Kong.

Indoor radon concentrations, radon emanation rates from building surfaces, radioactivity contents of building materials and the indoor gamma dose rates for Hong Kong are all in general higher than values obtained elsewhere. An interesting phenomenon has been noted that the values of indoor radon concentrations and radon emanation rates from building surfaces in Hong Kong tend to decrease with the age of the buildings, while the absorbed gamma dose rate remains about the same. Tile total average annual effective dose equivalent, and contribution from radon, thoron and their daughters, and that related to building materials will be shown. The number of radon-induced lung cancer deaths will also be discussed.