The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) publishes guidance on protection against radon exposure in homes and workplaces. ICRP Publication 137 recommends a dose coefficient of 3 mSv per mJ h m-3 (~10 mSv WLM-1) to be used in most circumstances of radon exposure, for workers in buildings and in underground mines. Recently, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) reviewed radon epidemiology and dosimetry and concluded that its established dose coefficient of 1.6 mSv per mJ h m-3 (5.7 mSv WLM-1) should be retained for use in its comparisons of radiation exposures from different sources in a population. This paper explains and compares the reviews of the scientific evidence from UNSCEAR and ICRP. It is shown that the UNSCEAR and ICRP reviews are consistent and support the use of the ICRP reference dose coefficients for radiation protection purposes. It is concluded that the ICRP dose coefficient should be used to calculate doses to workers.

Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire 92262 Fontenay aux Roses Cedex France

National Radiation Protection Institute Prague Czech Republic

Oxford Brookes University Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Oxford OX3 0BP UK

Public Health England Centre for Radiation Chemical and Environmental Hazards Chilton Didcot Oxon OX11 0RQ UK

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Lifetime excess absolute risk for lung cancer due to exposure to radon: results of the pooled uranium miners cohort study PUMA

Lung Cancer and Radon: Pooled Analysis of Uranium Miners Hired in 1960 or Later