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Detailed analysis of indoor radon concentration distribution by floors was conducted in four children institutions, one office building and two residential houses in Russian cities to develop approaches to draw up a program of radon survey for big buildings. Higher variability of radon concentration was found in high geogenic radon potential (GRP) area when the soil is the main source of radon. No essential dependence of radon concentration on the floor in high-rise buildings was found in low GRP area. The number of required radon measurements is estimated using obtained characteristics of radon variability., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Influence of living habits and meteorological parameters on indoor radon concentration in a new energy efficiency multi-storey flat building typical for Russian cities was studied using radon time series analysis. Continuous indoor radon measurements were conducted in four flats of the same multi-storey residential building in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Factors influencing indoor radon in surveyed building (by rank) are as follows: ventilation regime> indoor/outdoor temperature difference > wind direction. Intentional ventilation frequency, temperature difference and wind direction explain together up to 46% of indoor radon variability in a flat of multi-storey building., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Analysis includes review of 63 national and regional indoor radon surveys in kindergartens and schools. Preliminary assessment of the worldwide population weighted characteristics of radon concentration in children's institutions is: arithmetic mean = 59 and geometric mean = 36 Bq/m3. Higher indoor radon concentrations in children's institutions in comparison with the dwellings can be explained by characteristics of ventilation, attendance regime and construction features. Special protocol of measurements in the kindergartens and schools is required.

This article deals with the variation of radon (Rn), thoron (Tn) and their progeny concentrations expressed in terms of equilibrium equivalent concentrations (EERC and EETC), in 40 houses, in four villages of Sokobanja municipality, Southern Serbia. Two types of passive detectors were used: (1) discriminative radon-thoron detector for simultaneous Rn and Tn gases measurements and (2) direct Tn and Rn progeny sensors (DRPS/DTPS) for measuring Rn and Tn progeny concentrations. Detectors were exposed simultaneously for a single period of 12 months. Variations of Tn and EETC appear higher than those of Rn and EERC. Analysis of the spatial variation of the measured concentrations is also reported. This work is part of a wider survey of Rn, Tn and their progeny concentrations in indoor environments throughout the Balkan region started in 2011 year., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Obtaining of the representative sample of dwellings is a basic requirement to organization of the radon survey. Since random selection is often impossible, quasi-random approaches are used. The aim of the study is to analyze errors in radon exposure assessment that resulted from rejecting the random selection. Both the modeling and experiments were conducted. Three types of errors were observed: shifting of the mean, change of the variance and mixture of the previous two., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The objective of the study was comparison of the doses received due to contamination of the Techa River with those received from the indoor radon exposure. The study was performed on the example of Muslyumovo, the village closest to Mayak nuclear complex. The accidental doses were estimated using data on radionuclide intakes and ICRP-72 dose coefficients, and Techa River Dosimetry System. Radon exposure was estimated applying results of the radon surveys in 1992 and 2015. The doses prevented by means of different protection measures were considered. The maximum reduction of population exposure could be achieved in the case of timely evacuation to uncontaminated territory together with the indoor radon prevention measures., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The effect of implementation of energy-efficient measures in building construction was studied. Analysis includes study of indoor radon in energy-efficient buildings in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and results of radiation measurements in 83 regions of Russia conducted within the regional programmes. The forecast distribution of radon concentration in Ekaterinburg was built with regard to the city development programme. With Ekaterinburg taken as representative case, forecast distribution of radon concentration in Russia in 2030 was built. In comparison with 2000, average radon concentration increases by a factor of 1.42 in 2030 year; percentage above the reference level 300 Bq/m3 increases by a factor of 4 in 2030 year. It is necessary to perceive such an increase with all seriousness and to prepare appropriate measures for optimization of protection against indoor radon. Despite the high uncertainty, reconstructed distribution of radon concentration can be applied for justification of measures to be incorporated in the radon mitigation strategy., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Since 1995, requirements on energy-efficient building construction were established in Russian Building Codes. In the course of time, utilisation of such technologies became prevailing, especially in multi-storey building construction. According to the results of radon survey in buildings constructed meeting new requirements on energy efficiency, radon concentration exceeds the average level in early-constructed buildings. Preponderance of the diffusion mechanism of radon entry in modern multi-storey buildings has been experimentally established. The experimental technique of the assessment of ventilation rate in dwellings under real conditions was developed. Based on estimates of average ventilation rate, it was approved that measures to increase energy efficiency lead to reduction in ventilation rate and accumulation of higher radon concentrations indoors. Obtained ventilation rate values have to be considered as extremely low., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Modern energy-efficient architectural solutions and building construction technologies such as monolithic concrete structures in combination with effective insulation reduce air permeability of building envelope. As a result, air exchange rate is significantly reduced and conditions for increased radon accumulation in indoor air are created. Based on radon survey in Ekaterinburg, Russia, remarkable increase in indoor radon concentration level in energy-efficient multi-storey buildings was found in comparison with similar buildings constructed before the-energy-saving era. To investigate the problem of indoor radon in energy-efficient multi-storey buildings, the measurements of radon concentration have been performed in seven modern buildings using radon monitoring method. Values of air exchange rate and other parameters of indoor climate in energy-efficient buildings have been estimated., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The combined modified model of risk assessment from an indoor radon exposure is proposed. Multiplicative dependence on fatal lung cancer is used. The model has been developed on the basis of the modern health risk theory and the results of epidemiological studies with the special attention to the results of the European combined study and the WISMUT miners cohort study. The model is presented as an age-specific relative risk coefficient for a single (short-term) exposure. The risk coefficient for an extended exposure can be obtained from this risk coefficient in the accordance with the risk theory. The smoothed dependences of the risk coefficients on time since exposure and attained age and radon progeny concentration are suggested., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

This paper deals with the results of the first-field use in the Balkans, i.e. Serbia and Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Hercegovina), of a passive polycarbonate Mark II type and poliallyldiglycol carbonate (Cr-39) alpha track detectors sensitive to thoron as well as to radon. Both types of solid state nuclear track detectors were designed and supplied by National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), Chiba, Japan. The commercial names for these detectors which all have been field tested in Balkan rural communities are known as: UFO and RADUET passive discriminative radon/thoron detectors. No database of thoron and thoron progeny concentrations in dwellings in Serbia or Balkans region exist, and as a result, the level of exposure of the Serbian population to thoron and its progeny is unknown so far.