Voldřich, A. (2019). Radon, the silent killer: the neglected repercussions cause unforeseen environmental health risks in African countries [Master Thesis, Technische Universität Wien]. reposiTUm. https://doi.org/10.34726/hss.2019.66961
Radon; dwellings; lung cancer; Africa; European Union
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Radon; dwellings; lung cancer; Africa; European Union
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Abstract:
This thesis focuses on raising public and political awareness regarding the consequences of radon in Africa and has two major purposes: the first is to provide an in-depth analysis of the position of institutions such as the EU and the AU and their role in respect to the lack of awareness of the consequences of radon exposure; the second is to find out whether and how can a better understanding of the consequences of indoor radon exposure in Africa be achieved. The hypotheses include that awareness of radon is dependent on the peoples education concerning the environment and the consequences of radon. The data used and accessed through the database Factiva were obtained from EU and AU documents as well as scholarly literature dealing with radon exposure and lung cancer in Africa. In the first part, the scholarly literature is discussed which deals with radon and lung cancer in developing countries as well as Africas growing lung cancer problem due to environmental and occupational issues. In the second part, the situation in the EU and the AU is analyzed regarding the publics protection from radon exposure in workplaces and dwellings. Furthermore, possible and potential channels are discussed to raise public and political awareness of the consequences of radon in Africa. The outcome of the thesis is that this lack of awareness has been manifested through the lack of education regarding health effects due to radon. However, the results suggest that education is not enough to acknowledge radon as a threat to public health. Thus, a more emphatic engagement that goes beyond education and scientific support is needed. The amplification of a political will to acknowledge radon as a threat to public health can lead to lengthy procedures. This research serves as a basis to conduct a pilot project and fieldwork in Africa.