INITIATION OF AN OVERALL APPROACH FOR LIMITING THE HEALTH RISK FOR THE GEORGIAN POPULATION RELATED TO RADON EXPOSURE

Joint research project

Project leaders: Massimiliano Moscatelli, Marina Gakhutishvili
Agreement: GEORGIA - SRNSF - Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation
Call: CNR/SRNSF 2012-2013
Department: Earth and Environment
Thematic area: Earth system science and environmental technologies
Status of the project: New

Research proposal

Background and rationale
Indoor is one of the main indoor air pollutants in many countries. Radon is considered worldwide as the second cause of lung cancer after tobacco. Radon is a natural gas that results from the dissociation of radioactive elements present in the ground and that enters dwellings. The geological environment in Georgia favors the production of radon escaping from the soil.
The health risk that results from radon can be limited when appropriate measures are taken during construction or even by adaptations in existing houses.
In a recent report the WHO has attracted again attention on the health risk related to radon and has invited countries to limit as much as possible exposure of the population.

Concept of the project

An overall strategy for reducing the health risk related to exposure to radon implies that:

the population in radon prone areas is well informed about the health risk of radon;

adequate measurement techniques are available and that measurement campaigns are organized;

radon risk zones are clearly defined in order to objectively inform the population;

appropriate methods for prevention and remediation are available and adapted to local environmental conditions;

the population is sufficiently informed about the application of these methods;

efforts are done to stimulate the authorities to apply regulations for imposing measures to be taken;

that specific regulations are applied for work environments that result in high levels of exposure to radon.

In the EU an extended knowledge and experience exist in the various aspects related to radon risk identification, prevention and remediation: scientific knowledge, public awareness actions, best techniques for prevention and remediation. The project intends to start with the application of this knowledge in Georgia, adapting it to the environmental and socio-economic particularities of the country.

Research methodologies
The joint project will imply several distinct methodological approaches:

defining scientific approaches for the identification of radon risk zones in Georgia and implementing them by pilot actions in the field for assessing their adequacy;

assembling existing information about radon health risk and techniques for limiting the risk, and adapting them to the Georgian conditions; translating this scientific information for communicating it to decision makers and the general public;

implementing the strategic approach by pilot actions for information and for radon risk prevention and remediation.

Expect outcomes
The project is conceived as the initiation of the application of an action plan for mitigation of the radon health risk in Georgia. All actions for this purpose will be clearly defined and at least partly applied in practice in order that their efficiency can be assessed.
Furthermore, the modalities for the creation in Georgia of an organization, public or private, permanently involved in assisting the population for radon mitigation actions will be defined.

Perspective for further cooperation
Joint experimental work planned in the project concerns a pilot action on soil gas mapping for defining radon risk zones. Further collaboration can be considered for extending soil gas mapping for establishing a radon risk map of the country. Furthermore, soil radon mapping is an efficient tool for the identification of active faults. In a seismic active country as Georgia, collaborative actions in this field can be considered.
Further cooperation is also planned for the future development of the action plan for radon mitigation in its different aspects.

Research goals

The project intends to initiate in Georgia an overall approach that will result in limiting the health risk for the population that is exposed to radon. The partners from both countries will combine their efforts for first defining a strategy adapted to the Georgian conditions, based on the experience that has been acquired in other countries particularly in the EU. This strategy will imply specific actions that will be implemented in this project in a pilot stage in order to evaluate their appropriateness and efficiency such as to be extended in a more structural way after the project.

Last update: 07/08/2025