Reconstruction of national distribution of indoor radon concentration in Russia using results of regional indoor radon measurement programs

• Reconstruction of indoor radon concentration distribution in Russia was carried out.
• Data of official annual 4-DOZ reports were used.
• All-Russian average indoor radon concentration is 48 Bq/m3.
• The 95-th percentile is 160 Bq/m3.

The aim of the paper is a reconstruction of the national distribution and estimation of the arithmetic average indoor radon concentration in Russia using the data of official annual 4-DOZ reports. Annual 4-DOZ reports summarize results of radiation measurements in 83 regions of Russian Federation. Information on more than 400 000 indoor radon measurements includes the average indoor radon isotopes equilibrium equivalent concentration (EEC) and number of measurements by regions and by three main types of houses: wooden, one-storey non-wooden, and multi-storey non-wooden houses. To reconstruct the national distribution, all-Russian model sample was generated by integration of sub-samples created using the results of each annual regional program of indoor radon measurements in each type of buildings. According to indoor radon concentration distribution reconstruction, all-Russian average indoor radon concentration is 48 Bq/m3. Average indoor radon concentration by region ranges from 12 to 207 Bq/m3. The 95-th percentile of the distribution is reached at indoor radon concentration 160 Bq/m3.