published_or_final_version / Radioisotope / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A prototype hybrid knowledge-based advisory system for indoor radon mitigation has been developed to assist Pacific Northwest mitigators in the selection and design of mitigation systems for existing homes. The advisory system employs a heuristic inferencing strategy to determine which mitigation techniques are applicable, and applies procedural methods to perform the fan selection and cost estimation for particular techniques. The rule base has been developed employing knowledge in existing publications on radon mitigation. Additional knowledge has been provided by field experts. The benefits of such an advisory system include uniform record-keeping and consistent computations for the user, and verification of approved radon mitigation methods.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that numerous lung cancer deaths result every year due to radon exposure. Given this, radon education has become an important issue. The purpose of this research was to examine what action consumers had taken to respond to radon as a hazard following an education testing program and why they had taken that action. In the Fall of 1992, the Virginia citizens Consumer Council, in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension, conducted a radon education campaign to promote and sell radon test kits. This study is based on a follow-up telephone survey in which 100 Virginia consumers whose homes tested with high radon levels were asked what action they had taken to reduce their radon exposure. Using a proportional allocation, a sample was drawn from eight Virginia counties. statistical analysis included the use of cross tabulation tables and testing for association through the use of the gamma function. Statistically significant findings included: 1) objective risk does have an impact of hazard response; and 2) a correlation was found between how worried consumers were about their radon problem and their response to the hazard. / Master of Science