Implanted long-lived radon decay products in glass surfaces have been used as a measure of pastradon exposure in homes. Special track-etch devices (so-called retro-detectors") attached to the glasssurface, have the ability to specifically measure the implanted activity of 210Po in-situ. Calibratingthese devices for 210Po is fairly straightforward, but the retro-detectors are also sensitive to thebackground activity of the glass substrate.
The use of contemporary radon (222Rn) gas concentrations to estimate retrospective radon-relateddoses can introduce substantial uncertainties in epidemiological analyses. These uncertainties tend tobias the results of radon-lung cancer epidemiologic studies towards the null. Temporal variability ofradon progeny over past decades and the variability in the dose effectiveness of airborne radonprogeny caused by indoor atmospheric differences are among the main sources of uncertainties in ourregion.
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