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The short-lived decay product (Rn-d) of radon gas (222Rn, 220Rn) have been identified as a healthhazard in occupational exposure situations. For the past 30 years Rn-d have also been the subject ofintensive research for their role as a public health risk in general.In the European Union this has reached the stage where decisions will have to be made concerning theinitiation and scale of national Rn-mitigation programmes. In view of thepotentially significant socio-economic impact of such programmes, it is time to proceed from the Rn-drisk assessment to a more integrated approach, the Rn-d risk management phase. This implies thecritical assessment of the current know-how and its associated uncertainties for the following topicareas:?Identification and analysis of all health hazards due to Rn-d exposure (fate of Rn-d in theenvironment; exposure of biological targets, such as skin and respiratory tract).Estimation and evaluation of the resulting risk (epidemiological evidence; dose-responserelationships; uncertainty in risk estimates; significance of Rn-d risk in comparison with otherrisks).?Implementation of risk control measures (legislative actions; risk acceptability and publicperception of risk, technical mitigation programmes and their socio-economic impact).Auditing of the actions under the risk management programme (monitoring of the outreachfactor, cost-effectiveness in achieving a risk-reduction; follow-up initiatives, e.g. Prospectiveepidemiological studies).By reviewing the achievements reached up to date it can be concluded that important tasks still remainto be undertaken within the framework of Rn-risk management in the future:?To further reduce uncertainty and aim for international harmonisation in the risk decision makingprocessTo improve the technical and economic aspects of presently used Rn-mitigation techniquesTo identify more effective ways in increasing the public credibility of Rn-d risk managementdecisions taken by the nuclear community.
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