{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T16:16:34Z","timestamp":1789488994766,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"American Chemical Society (ACS)","issue":"36","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788134400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Institutes of Health (NIH)","award":["R00ES034459"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R00ES034459"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers, posing a significant public health risk. Despite its known dangers, population-wide exposure assessments of indoor radon have been limited by the reliance on area-based summaries, such as average and median concentrations, which ignore the distributional characteristics of small areas. This study developed a national-scale modeling framework to estimate ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA)-level distributions of indoor radon concentrations across the contiguous United States from 2000 to 2021. We utilized over six million short-term radon measurements, which were aggregated at the ZCTA level to predict percentiles. By further modeling within-ZCTA radon exposure distributions, we improved the quantification of exposure heterogeneity and were able to estimate the proportion and number of residents exceeding policy-relevant exposure thresholds more accurately. The results reveal that approximately half of U.S. ZCTAs have at least one in five households exposed to radon concentrations exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s action level (148 Bq\/m3), with high-exposure areas predominantly located in the Midwest. These findings provide crucial data to help residents recognize their potential radon risk, urge policymakers to design cost-effective interventions, and offer health researchers an essential database for incorporating within-ZCTA radon exposure distributions into health risk assessments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.6c01333","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T01:03:20Z","timestamp":1788397400000},"page":"25597-25606","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From Percentiles\nto Distributions: Nationwide ZCTA-Level\nModeling of Indoor Radon Exposure across the Contiguous United States,\n2000\u20132021"],"prefix":"10.1021","volume":"60","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3255-3430","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Teng","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Emory University , , , ,","place":["Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0893-146X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Longxiang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Emory University , , , ,","place":["Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"316","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit1","unstructured":"United States Environmental Protection Agency. Health Risk of Radon, 2025. https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/radon\/health-risk-radon#who (accessed December 26, 2025)."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-025-04547-4","article-title":"Residential radon exposure and incident myocardial\ninfarction and stroke risks in the All of Us Research Program","volume":"24","author":"Luo","year":"2026","journal-title":"BMC Med."},{"issue":"4","key":"2026091511110025100_cit3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1212\/WNL.0000000000209143","article-title":"Radon Exposure and Incident\nStroke Risk in the Women\u2019s Health Initiative","volume":"102","author":"Buchheit","year":"2024","journal-title":"Neurology"},{"issue":"23","key":"2026091511110025100_cit4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2024.e40439","article-title":"Indoor\nradon exposure:\nA systematic review of radon-induced health risks and evidence quality\nusing GRADE approach","volume":"10","author":"Mphaga","year":"2024","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026091511110025100_cit5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12940-017-0305-6","article-title":"Environmental radon\nexposure and breast cancer risk in the Nurses\u2019 Health Study\nII","volume":"16","author":"VoPham","year":"2017","journal-title":"Environ. Health"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026091511110025100_cit6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"676","DOI":"10.1093\/ije\/dyw128","article-title":"Lung and stomach cancer associations\nwith groundwater\nradon in North Carolina, USA","volume":"46","author":"Messier","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Epidemiol."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit7","volume-title":"A Citizen\u2019s Guide\nto Radon: The Guide to Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Radon","author":"United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Indoor Environmental Division.","year":"2002"},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit8","unstructured":"National Radon Action Plan, American Lung\nAssociation & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2022."},{"issue":"6","key":"2026091511110025100_cit9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"922","DOI":"10.1097\/00004032-199612000-00009","article-title":"Bayesian prediction\nof mean indoor\nradon concentrations for Minnesota counties","volume":"71","author":"Price","year":"1996","journal-title":"Health Phys."},{"issue":"6","key":"2026091511110025100_cit10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"893","DOI":"10.1097\/00004032-199706000-00008","article-title":"Predictions\nand maps of county mean indoor radon concentrations in the mid-Atlantic\nstates","volume":"72","author":"Price","year":"1997","journal-title":"Health Phys."},{"issue":"3","key":"2026091511110025100_cit11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2408084121","article-title":"High-resolution\nnational radon maps based on massive indoor measurements in the United\nStates","volume":"122","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2025.110016","article-title":"Radon risk mapping in\nSpain: A population and Building-Inclusive approach","volume":"208","author":"Ferriol-Galme\u0301s","year":"2026","journal-title":"Environ. Int."},{"issue":"9","key":"2026091511110025100_cit13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3435","DOI":"10.1007\/s00477-023-02457-6","article-title":"Modeling and predicting mean indoor\nradon concentrations\nin Austria by generalized additive mixed models","volume":"37","author":"Alber","year":"2023","journal-title":"Stochastic Environ. Res. Risk Assess."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2018.02.025","article-title":"Estimation\nof residential radon exposure and definition of Radon Priority Areas\nbased on expected lung cancer incidence","volume":"114","author":"Eli\u0301o","year":"2018","journal-title":"Environ.\nInt."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2019.05.059","article-title":"County-level radon exposure\nand all-cause mortality risk among Medicare beneficiaries","volume":"130","author":"Yitshak-Sade","year":"2019","journal-title":"Environ. Int."},{"issue":"3","key":"2026091511110025100_cit16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"420","DOI":"10.1038\/s41370-019-0164-z","article-title":"Influence of exposure measurement\nerrors on results\nfrom epidemiologic studies of different designs","volume":"30","author":"Richmond-Bryant","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Exposure Sci. Environ. Epidemiol."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit17","unstructured":"Blul, J. C. D. L. R.; Guglielmelli, A.; Cinelli, G.\n          European\nIndoor Radon Maps 2024; Joint Research Centre, 2025."},{"issue":"9","key":"2026091511110025100_cit18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1289\/EHP14171","article-title":"Development\nof a High-Resolution Indoor Radon Map Using\na New Machine Learning-Based Probabilistic Model and German Radon\nSurvey Data","volume":"132","author":"Petermann","year":"2024","journal-title":"Environ. Health Perspect."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit19","volume-title":"European\nAtlas of Natural Radiation: Publications Office of the European Union","author":"Cinelli","year":"2019"},{"issue":"20","key":"2026091511110025100_cit20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.01203-18","article-title":"Methods for Handling\nLeft-Censored Data in Quantitative\nMicrobial Risk Assessment","volume":"84","author":"Canales","year":"2018","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"issue":"4","key":"2026091511110025100_cit21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1080\/00031305.1996.10473566","article-title":"Sample quantiles in statistical packages","volume":"50","author":"Hyndman","year":"1996","journal-title":"Am.\nStat."},{"issue":"1","key":"2026091511110025100_cit22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1010933404324","article-title":"Random forests","volume":"45","author":"Breiman","year":"2001","journal-title":"Mach. Learn."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v077.i01","article-title":"ranger: A fast implementation of random forests for\nhigh dimensional data in C++ and R","volume":"77","author":"Wright","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Stat.\nSoftware"},{"issue":"46","key":"2026091511110025100_cit24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"18001","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.2c08840","article-title":"Predicting\nMonthly Community-Level Radon Concentrations\nwith Spatial Random Forest in the Northeastern and Midwestern United\nStates","volume":"57","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit25","volume-title":"WHO Handbook on\nIndoor Radon: A Public Health Perspective","year":"2009"},{"issue":"1\u20134","key":"2026091511110025100_cit26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"419","DOI":"10.1093\/rpd\/45.1-4.419","article-title":"Nationwide\nSurvey of Residential Radon Levels in the US","volume":"45","author":"Marcinowski","year":"1992","journal-title":"Radiat. Prot. Dosim."},{"issue":"3","key":"2026091511110025100_cit27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2015.08.031","article-title":"Precision Public Health for the Era\nof Precision Medicine","volume":"50","author":"Khoury","year":"2016","journal-title":"Am. J. Prev. Med."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"342","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pmedr.2015.04.009","article-title":"Radon potential, geologic formations, and lung cancer risk","volume":"2","author":"Hahn","year":"2015","journal-title":"Prev. Med. Rep."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envpol.2024.125592","article-title":"Identifying\npredictors\nof spatiotemporal variations in residential radon concentrations across\nNorth Carolina using machine learning analytics","volume":"367","author":"Yang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Environ. Pollut."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvrad.2020.106501","article-title":"Development\nof radon transport model\nin different types of dwellings to assess indoor activity concentration","volume":"227","author":"Sabbarese","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Environ. Radioact."},{"issue":"1\u20133","key":"2026091511110025100_cit31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"126","DOI":"10.1093\/rpd\/ncv228","article-title":"Soil features\nand indoor radon concentration prediction: radon in soil gas, pedology,\npermeability and 226Ra content","volume":"167","author":"Lara","year":"2015","journal-title":"Radiat. Prot.\nDosim."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit32","unstructured":"Environmental Law Institute.\n          . Radon Control in New Home Construction, 2025. https:\/\/www.eli.org\/buildings\/radon-control-new-home-construction (accessed May 10, 2026)."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit33","volume-title":"National and Regional Surveys\nof Radon Concentration in Dwellings","year":"2013"},{"issue":"3","key":"2026091511110025100_cit34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1088\/0952-4746\/31\/3\/001","article-title":"The use of volunteer\nradon measurements for radon mapping\npurposes: an examination of sampling bias issues","volume":"31","author":"Burke","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Radiol. Prot."},{"issue":"2","key":"2026091511110025100_cit35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00418013","article-title":"Radon risk assessment: The effect\nof voluntary sampling\ndistributions and bias","volume":"22","author":"Levy","year":"1992","journal-title":"Environ. Monit. Assess."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit36","unstructured":"Miles, J.\n           In  Sources of Bias in\nData for Radon Potential Mapping,; Proceedings of the Third\nEurosymposium on Protection against Radon; Liege, 2001; pp 175\u2013177."},{"issue":"4","key":"2026091511110025100_cit37","first-page":"409","article-title":"Comparison of purchased\nmeasurements with measurements in randomly\nselected houses as a source of information on 222Rn levels in houses","volume":"53","author":"Cohen","year":"1987","journal-title":"Health Phys."},{"key":"2026091511110025100_cit38","unstructured":"Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman.\n          . State radon laws, 2016. https:\/\/lawatlas.org\/datasets\/state-radon-laws (accessed November 9, 2025)."},{"issue":"2","key":"2026091511110025100_cit39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"191","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.estlett.1c00989","article-title":"Ratios between Radon\nConcentrations in Upstairs and Basements: A Study in the Northeastern\nand Midwestern United States","volume":"9","author":"Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"Environ. Sci.\nTechnol. Lett."}],"container-title":["Environmental Science &amp;\nTechnology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1021\/acs.est.6c01333","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"unspecified"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/esthag\/article-pdf\/60\/36\/25597\/67961162\/acs.est.6c01333.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/esthag\/article-pdf\/60\/36\/25597\/67961162\/acs.est.6c01333.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T15:53:50Z","timestamp":1789487630000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/esthag\/article\/60\/36\/25597\/5381170\/From-Percentiles-to-Distributions-Nationwide-ZCTA"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"references-count":39,"journal-issue":{"issue":"36","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acs.est.6c01333","relation":{},"ISSN":["0013-936X","1520-5851"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0013-936X","type":"print"},{"value":"1520-5851","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]}}}