Radon Risk Communication through News Stories: A Multi-Perspective Approach.

Int J Environ Res Public Health

Department of Communication Sciences, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain.

Published: September 2024

Radon is, after tobacco, the most frequent cause of lung cancer. Communicating about its risks with a didactic perspective so that citizens become aware and take action to avoid radon remains a challenge. This research is framed in Spain, where 17% of the territory exceeds the maximum radon limits allowed by the WHO, and aims to study the role and impact of the media in radon risk communication. A mixed methodological design is applied, combining content analysis of news published in the last two decades by local media in the most affected areas with interviews with journalists and a survey of citizens to provide a multi-perspective approach. The results show that, although news coverage of radon is becoming more frequent, it is a topic that fails to position itself on the agenda for effective communication. The media are the most frequent source of information on radon, although they are not considered by the public the most trustworthy one. News stories about radon focus mainly on health and research to inform about the radon levels to which citizens are exposed and the risks associated with cancer. Collaborative strategies between the media, organizations, and public administration seem key to advancing the fight against radon.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11506878PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21101302DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

radon
10
radon risk
8
risk communication
8
news stories
8
multi-perspective approach
8
news
4
communication news
4
stories multi-perspective
4
approach radon
4
radon tobacco
4

Similar Publications

Urotropine, an antibacterial agent to treat urinary tract bacterial infections, can be also considered as a repurposed drug with formaldehyde-mediated anticancer activity. Recently, we have synthesized urotropine surface modified iron oxide nanoparticles (URO@FeO NPs) with improved colloidal stability and limited cytotoxicity against human fibroblasts. In the present study, we have investigated URO@FeO NP-mediated responses in a panel of forty phenotypically different breast cancer cell lines along with three non-cancerous corresponding cell lines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Radon is a known risk factor for lung cancer, and residential radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer in never smokers; however, in Italy, there is still a lack of public awareness regarding the risk caused by residential radon exposure. In this mortality study, which was carried out in an Italian Apulian town (Locorotondo) of the Bari province, we aimed to analyze lung cancer mortality and all-cause mortality in a population highly exposed to radon. : The study period was 1998-2021.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In different measurement tasks, the duration allocated for radon progeny concentration measurement varies, and the requirements for measurement precision also differ. To accommodate the needs of various radon progeny concentration measurement tasks, this study takes the error in radon progeny concentration measurement as the optimization goal and the time points of the three-stage method as the optimization target, establishing an optimized three-stage method for radon progeny concentration measurement. The optimization algorithm allocates the three time periods under any total measurement time requirement, ensuring the highest measurement precision.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study assesses the activity concentrations of the radionuclides 238U, 232Th, and 40K in soil samples collected from Wolaita Sodo town, located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' (SNNP) Region, Ethiopia. A gamma-ray spectrometer equipped with a NaI(Tl) detector was used for the measurements. The concentrations of 238U, 232Th, and 40K varied from 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Radon (Rn) is a radioactive gas with well-documented harmful effects; the World Health Organization has confirmed it as a cancerogenic for humans. These detrimental effects have prompted Europe to establish national reference levels to protect the exposed population. This is reflected in European directive 59/2013/EURATOM, which has been transposed into the national regulations of EU Member States.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!