ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1625922
Swiss National Radon Database: Impact of Building and Environmental Factors
Provisionally accepted
- 1Western Switzerland Center for Indoor Air Quality and Radon (croqAIR), Transform Institute, School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, HES-SO, Fribourg, Switzerland
- 2University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Department of Environment Constructions and Design (DACD), Radon Competence Centre (CCR), Mendrisio, Switzerland
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Since the 1980s, radon has been recognized as a public health concern in Switzerland and internationally. In an effort to more accurately estimate the number of lung cancer cases attributable to radon exposure, Swiss health authorities initiated the creation of radon measurements into a centralized national database. As of 2025, this database comprises approximately 300,000 measurements from 150,000 buildings across the country. This study aims 1) to provide a statistical characterization of the Swiss National Radon Database, including temporal and structural aspects (e.g., number of measurements, measurement duration), and 2) to identify key environmental and anthropogenic factors influencing indoor radon concentrations, using various national datasets (e.g., geology, hydrology, climate, seismicity, soil chemistry, building characteristics). Results indicate that elevated indoor radon levels are primarily associated with the presence of uranium-rich geological formations and fault zones, particularly within karstic environments. Among building-related parameters, older constructions and lower floor levels are linked to higher radon concentrations, while building type appears to have minimal influence. Moreover, a negative correlation was observed between measurement duration and radon levels, suggesting that shorter measurements tend to overestimate long-term exposure and raising questions regarding the annual representativeness. This study provides a comprehensive overview of radon distribution patterns and their determinants, offering valuable insights for researchers and public health authorities. It contributes to the development of evidence-based strategies for radon risk assessment, management, and mitigation, both within Switzerland and in comparable international contexts.
Keywords: Radon database, Radon exposure, environmental influences, Geogenic potential, Climate influences, Building characteristics, Public Health
Received: 12 May 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rey, Berlusconi, Pampuri and Goyette Pernot. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Joan F. Rey, Western Switzerland Center for Indoor Air Quality and Radon (croqAIR), Transform Institute, School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, HES-SO, Fribourg, Switzerland
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