Estimation of groundwater radon in North Carolina using land use regression and Bayesian maximum entropy

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bradley PJ ; Campbell T ; Messier KP ; Serre ML
• Description:
  Radon ((222)Rn) is a naturally occurring chemically inert, colorless, and odorless radioactive gas produced from the decay of uranium ((238)U), which is ubiquitous in rocks and soils worldwide. Exposure to (222)Rn is likely the second leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking via inhalation; however, exposure through untreated groundwater is also a contributing factor to both inhalation and ingestion routes. A land use regression (LUR) model for groundwater (222)Rn with anisotropic geological and (238)U based explanatory variables is developed, which helps elucidate the factors contributing to elevated (222)Rn across North Carolina. The LUR is also integrated into the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) geostatistical framework to increase accuracy and produce a point-level LUR-BME model of groundwater (222)Rn across North Carolina including prediction uncertainty. The LUR-BME model of groundwater (222)Rn results in a leave-one out cross-validation r(2) of 0.46 (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.68), effectively predicting within the spatial covariance range. Modeled results of (222)Rn concentrations show variability among intrusive felsic geological formations likely due to average bedrock (238)U defined on the basis of overlying stream-sediment (238)U concentrations that is a widely distributed consistently analyzed point-source data. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Lung Lung Diseases Neoplasms Occupational Health Radiation Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Gases Ground Water Lung Cancer Radioactive Materials Radon Radon 222 Radon Daughters Respiratory System Disorders
• ISSN:
  0013-936X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  49
• Issue:
  16
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047694
• Citation:
  Environ Sci Technol 2015 Aug; 49(16):9817-9825
• Contact Point Address:
  Kyle P. Messier, 1303 Michael Hooker Research Center, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
• Email:
  kmessier@live.unc.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Radon (CAS RN 10043-92-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Science and Technology
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7e6cfb20ca9a17356278621d9a0d5ebf43018715189adecdcb447d8dcb341f3015d2335b87ab0c8f2ae34faf7ece600ed556a27079321f4645ef3f86107f9964
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202697/cdc_202697_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.80 MB ]