French population exposure to radon, terrestrial gamma and cosmic rays
Résumé
In France, natural sources account for most of the population exposure to ionising radiation. This exposure varies widely with area. Radon and gamma-ray exposure data come from national measurement campaigns; cosmic doses were calculated from city altitude. These data were corrected for season of measurement, housing characteristics and population density to study their relationship with health indicators. The crude average of indoor radon concentrations was 89 Bq m-3, and the average corrected for season and housing characteristics was 83 Bq m-3 (range over districts: 19-297). Weighting by district population density yielded a national average of 63 Bq m-3. Gamma-ray dose rates averaged 55 nSv h-1 (23-96) indoors and 46 nSv h-1 (25-85) outdoors; corrections did not change the means. Corrected cosmic annual doses averaged 0.28 mSv (0.27-0.38). These corrections estimated the radiation exposure of the French population more accurately and represented its distribution well, thereby allowing its study as a cofactor in ecological studies. © The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Mots clés
Risk Factors
Seasons
radon
altitude
article
concentration (parameters)
controlled study
cosmic radiation
data analysis
dosimetry
France
gamma radiation
housing
human
ionizing radiation
population density
population exposure
radiation dose
radiation exposure
season
Cosmic Radiation
Environmental Exposure
Gamma Rays
Housing
Humans
Radiation Dosage
Radiation Monitoring
Radiation Protection
Radon
Risk Assessment