{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T20:02:50Z","timestamp":1792785770093,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"funder":[{"name":"Belgium\u2019s Federal Agency for Nuclear Control","id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01jq16575","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cobalt mining plays a crucial role for the local and national economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but mining leads to serious occupational health risks, including exposure to radon emanating from the uranium-rich ore in the region. However, no data are available about radon levels in artisanal copper\u2013cobalt underground mines in Kolwezi.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Between May 2021 and April 2023, radon concentrations were measured by means of passive diffusive radon detectors (Radonova) in 3 copper\u2013cobalt underground artisanal mines (Kamilombe, Bridon, and Usine \u00e0 Cuivre de Kolwezi [UCK]). Thirty detectors were deployed for 56 to 84 d.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of the 30 detectors, only 20 were retrieved because of cave-ins. Median [range] radon levels were 1,425 Bq\/m3 [111 to 6,848 Bq\/m3] for Kamilombe (n = 10), 2,210 Bq\/m3 [96 to 7,910 Bq\/m3] for Bridon (n = 5), and 24,800 Bq\/m3 [96 Bq\/m3\u2014above saturation level of \u223c24,000 Bq\/m3] for UCK (n = 5). In Kamilombe, radon levels correlated with shaft depth (Spearman \u03c1 = 0\u00b770, P = 0.03).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Taking an average duration of 12\u2005h of underground work per day, the observed median radon concentration levels would lead miners to exceed the recommended annual effective dose of 6 mSv within a few months, thus exposing them to a well-recognized risk of lung cancer. Combined with the uranium-rich geology and poor mine ventilation, these findings identify an important occupational health hazard and underscore the need for improved ventilation and routine radon monitoring.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/annweh\/wxag079","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T11:35:43Z","timestamp":1788521743000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["High radon concentrations in artisanal copper\u2013cobalt underground mining in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"70","author":[{"given":"Paul","family":"Musa Obadia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre de Recherche en Toxicologie et Sant\u00e9 Globale, Institut Sup\u00e9rieur des Techniques M\u00e9dicales de Lubumbashi , 4748 Lubumbashi ,","place":["DR Congo"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joseph","family":"Pyana Kitenge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit\u00e9 de Sant\u00e9 au travail et Sant\u00e9 environnementale, Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Universit\u00e9 de Lubumbashi , 1825 Lubumbashi ,","place":["DR Congo"]},{"name":"Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven , 3000 Leuven ,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tr\u00e9sor","family":"Carsi Kuhangana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven , 3000 Leuven ,","place":["Belgium"]},{"name":"Centre de Recherche en Sant\u00e9 Environnementale, Nutrition et Toxicologie, Universit\u00e9 de Kolwezi , 07301 Kolwezi ,","place":["DR Congo"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Desir\u00e9","family":"Mundali Shimbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit\u00e9 de Sant\u00e9 au travail et Sant\u00e9 environnementale, Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Universit\u00e9 de 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