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The aim of this study is to provide a tool to assess sediment production in an urban area. The urban environment is affected by a variety of anthropogenic and natural factors that, in particular, lead to the sediment production. The storage of sediments in the urban landscape negatively affects the quality of the urban environment. The model was developed on the basis of landscape studies conducted in residential areas of six Russian cities. The model takes into account (1) the influence of precipitation, spring snowmelt, and vehicles, (2) the influence of erosion factors for two seasons: warm (t>5°C) and cold (t

Significant temporal variations in radon are observed in any buildings, including unoccupied buildings with limited ventilation. This fact causes serious difficulties in radiation monitoring to assess the compliance of premises with the requirements of the normative, which limits the annual average level of radon in buildings. Therefore, neither at the national nor at the international level has yet been solved the problem of standardizing the indoor radon measurement if the test duration is less than a year. An analysis of approaches to radon measurement, including an assessment of the effectiveness of regulation, shows very significant differences between practices established in different countries. For example, in Russia, rapid (no more than 20 min) measurements are mainly used and mitigation measures to protect existing buildings from radon are practically not carried out. In European countries, mainly long-term (at least two months) measurements are used, while mitigation measures are still relatively rare, with the exception of the UK and Sweden. In the USA, short-term (2–7 days) measurements are widely used, which are not only carried out, but also paid for by residents themselves, including mitigation measures. However, despite the established approaches to indoor radon monitoring in Russia and the USA, there is a persistent distrust among specialists in the results of shortterm and, especially, rapid measurements. In this regard, a compromise approach is proposed to standardize radon measurements based on a rational criterion by applying fundamental ISO/IEC concepts such as “measurement uncertainty” and “conformity assessment”. The rational criterion for conformity assessment allows using measurements of different durations, providing a given reliability when making a decision. It also proposes a rationale for optimizing indoor radon monitoring through the participation of not only professional inspectors, but also the population itself due to the possibility of introducing simple methods and inexpensive radon devices within the rational criterion.

In this work, the results of radon concentration measurements in samples of multi-storey apartment buildings in eight large cities of Russia are analyzed. Two samples, depending on the year of construction of the building – before and after 2000, were formed in each city on the basis of a quasi-random approach. Radon concentration measurements were performed using radon radiometers equipped with the CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detector. In the flats of multi-storey buildings, two radiometers were installed and flat’s average radon concentration was calculated. The exposure period for the radon radiometers was three months. To estimate the average annual radon concentration, seasonal coefficients calculated for the primary radon entry from building materials were used. In total, radon concentration measurements were carried out in 1032 flats. It was assumed that the combined sample for the cities of Ekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, and Chelyabinsk is representative for the multi-storey buildings in non-capital cities of Russia. The following arithmetic mean annual radon concentrations were obtained in samples of houses built up before and after 2000, respectively: Moscow – 17 and 21 Bq/m3; St. Petersburg – 15 and 25 Bq/ m3, the group of non-capital cities – 25 and 31 Bq/m3. Taking into account the contribution of each group of buildings to the general urban housing stock, the parameters characterizing the radon concentration in multi-storey multi-apartment urban buildings in Russia were calculated as follows: arithmetic mean 25 Bq/ m3; geometric mean 21 Bq/m3; the geometric standard deviation is 1.81. In general, exposure to indoor radon in multi-storey urban buildings in Russia is low both in terms of average value and range of concentrations. There is a tendency towards an increase in indoor radon exposure of the population in new buildings, which is associated with the introduction of construction technologies that increase the energy efficiency of buildings.

An application of geometric mixed additive-multiplicative models for lung cancer risk modeling under combined action of radon and smoking is justified in this paper. The geometric mixed model allows: 1) to reduce the discrepancies between estimates of the lung cancer risk for males and females, 2) to predict the population risk under condition of the varying smoking prevalence and changing average indoor radon concentration level. Using the geometric mixed model, the calculation of the lung cancer risks for the Russian Federation population was carried out for different percentages of smokers among the population, an increase in life expectancy, and a change in the average radon concentration level in residential buildings. Assuming that currently rounded average indoor radon concentration in Russia is 50 Bq/m3, the contribution of radon to total mortality in 2009 was 0.46% and 0.20% for male and female, respectively. Modeling has shown that the effect of lung cancer mortality reducing due to the predicted decrease in the proportion of smoking population will partly be offset by an increase in the realization of lung cancer risk with the life expectancy increase. For a hypothetical situation, when the entire population maintain a healthy lifestyle and mortality from cardiovascular, oncological, infectious diseases, diseases of the respiratory tract and from external causes has significantly decreased, the contribution of radon exposure to total mortality will increase to about 0.8%. If the average level of radon in buildings will increase due to energy-efficient technologies widespread implementation in building construction, the contribution of radon to total mortality will be even more noticeable.

A comparative analysis of the radon concentrations in modern multi-storey residential buildings of high energy efficiency class and buildings typical for urban areas of the twentieth century was carried out. The study was conducted in Russian cities located in various climatic zones – Ekaterinburg, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg, Salekhard, Chelyabinsk. The radon concentration in samples of buildings was measured using integrated radon radiometers based on nuclear track detectors according to a single method. The surveyed sample included 498 apartments in multi-apartment buildings. Among all the examined building types, the highest average radon concentration is observed in modern energy-efficient houses – 43 Bq/m3. In other types of buildings, the following average radon concentrations were obtained: brick 2–5 floors – 35 Bq/m3; panel 5 floors – 32 Bq/m3; panel 7–12 floors 1970-1990 years of construction – 22 Bq/m3; brick> 5 floors 1970–1980 years of construction – 20 Bq m3; panel, built since 1990 – 24 Bq/m3. The results of the study confirm the assumption that radon concentration in modern multi-storey energy-efficient houses is on average higher than in typical residential buildings of the Soviet period. The increased accumulation of radon in energy-efficient buildings is associated with a decrease in the building envelope permeability and the contribution of fresh air to the general air exchange. Despite the fact that there were no cases of exceeding hygienic standards for the indoor radon concentration in the framework of this study, the higher radon concentration in buildings of increased energy efficiency requires attention from the point of view of implementing the principle of optimization of radiation protection. In the future, extensive construction of energy-efficient buildings may increase the average and collective doses to the urban population in the Russian Federation.

According to results of the survey in Ekaterinburg, Russia, indoor radon concentrations above the city average level have been found in each of the studied buildings with high energy efficiency class. Measures to increase energy efficiency were confirmed to decrease the air exchange rate and accumulation of high radon concentrations indoors. Despite of recommendations to use mechanical ventilation with heat recovery as the main scenario for reducing elevated radon concentrations in energy-efficient buildings, the use of such systems did not show an obvious advantage. In real situation, mechanical ventilation system is not used properly both in the automatic and manual mode, which does not give an obvious advantage over the natural ventilation in the climate of the Middle Urals in Ekaterinburg.

The aim of the study: to analyze the risk of lung cancer caused by exposure to indoor radon using an environmental study, taking into account recent data on the possible effect of Human Papillomavirus, based on lung cancer mortality and radon exposure in the Russian regions.Materials and methods: in the analysis, linear dependencies of lung cancer against influencing factors were used. The average radon concentration for the regions of Russia was earlier reconstructed on the basis of the annual reports of the form 4-DOZ. Information on morbidity and mortality from malignant neoplasms in Russia was obtained from annual reports issued by the Р. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute. As a surrogate of the level of infection with Human Papillomavirus, the incidence of cervix cancer was used. The smoking prevalence was estimated applying data on the incidence of tongue cancer.Results: taking into account smoking and infection with Human Papillomavirus, it is possible to obtain estimates of lung cancer excess relative risk when induced by radon in dwellings consistent with the results of case-control studies.Conclusion: the analysis of regionally aggregated data on deaths from lung cancer in Russia, the average level of indoor radon concentrations and significant risk factors for lung cancer confirms the linear threshold-free concept of radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

The aim of the study was to analyze the effectiveness of measures on reduction of population radiation exposure at the radioactively contaminated territories by comparing radiation doses due to natural and technogenic sources. Materials and methods: the effective doses of radiation exposure due to the Techa River contamination in Muslyumovo were calculated using the data on radionuclide intakes and coefficients recommended by ICRP. Exposure to radon was estimated based on the results of radon surveys of Muslyumovo in 1992 and New Muslyumovo in 2015. Results: the total effective dose due to the Techa River contamination accumulated over the period 1950–2000 was 144 mSv. Annual effective doses due to radon in Muslyumovo and New Muslyumovo were 9,2 and 5,1 mSv respectively. The total effective dose received due to the natural and technogenic radiation was about 0,7 Sv (a contribution of radon is 77%). The total averted dose by the year 2015 due to resettlement in 2007 is 38 mSv. The dose reduction appeared mostly due to lower radon exposure. Conclusion: the maximum reduction of population exposure could be achieved by means of timely evacuation to uncontaminated territory together with the indoor radon prevention measures.

Implementation of reference level conception for optimization of protection against radon in dwellings requires thorough consideration of a number of associated problems. With regard to both experience with regulation of indoor radon exposure in Russia and ICRP recommendations, Russian national reference level for radon should be expressed using annual radon concentration and set at level of 200 Bq/m3.