As awareness about the danger of radon in indoor air has increased, various studies have been conducted to reduce the source of radon. This study was performed to investigate the effect of radon mitigation technology in a railway tunnel. Radon barrier paint and radon shield membrane developed to reduce the concentration of radon in soil and construction material were applied in the tunnel. The tunnel was divided into three sections, A, B, and C, and radon barrier paint, a buffer section, and radon shield membrane were applied, respectively. After securing a sealing screen to the floor and division of each section, radon concentrations were measured and compared before and after each product was applied, and statistical significance was confirmed through the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Measurement was performed with the In-Situ Method and Closed Chamber Method. Radon concentration measured by the in-situ method changed in A section to 124.1 Bq/m2/day from 614.1 Bq/m2/day (79.8%, z=-2.521, p<0.05), in B section to 416.2 Bq/m2/day from 467.1 Bq/m2/day (10.9%, z=-0.980, p=0.327), and in C section to 47.3 Bq/m2/day from 645.6 Bq/m2/day (92.7%, z=-2.521, p<0.05). Radon concentration measured by the closed chamber method recorded a decrease in A section to 88.8 Bq/m3 from 364.2 Bq/m3 (75.6%, z=-2.201, p<0.05), in B section to 471.8 Bq/m3 from 583.3 Bq/m3 (19.1%, z=-0.700, p=0.484), and in C section to 115.9 Bq/m3 from 718.8 Bq/m3 (83.9%, z=-2.521, p<0.05). In addition to soil, it is very important to mitigate radon from building materials with a high contribution rate of radon in order to manage radon by source. Due to the spatial characteristics of railway tunnels, soil and wall concrete structures are exposed as they are, so it is considered that radon mitigation actions are required utilizing verified methods with high mitigation efficiency.

Despite increasing public concern following mass media coverage regarding the risk of radon to human health and the need to control it, there remains a lack of infrastructure for measuring and mitigating radon. Against this backdrop, this paper is part of an effort to formulate an environment-management framework that can help resolve environmental issues relating to radon, ease fears regarding the associated risks, and provide radon-specific quality services. This study aimed to suggest locally applicable measures for training experts specializing in the fields of measuring and mitigating radon mainly based on US cases in which radon measurement and mitigation certification programs have been systematically run and supervised. Given the lack of both awareness on radon and experts in Korean circumstances, it is necessary to come up with a scheme to develop a radon-specific education program and a framework for expert accreditation. Thus, as groundwork for their introduction considering local circumstances, top-down measures led by the relevant department of government-led organizations, which will act as the control tower, should first be implemented to best utilize the insufficient human resources in this area. In addition, more systematic and detailed educational programs and an expert certification system need to be developed in accordance with the established foundations, and to support their consistent operation, a relevant administrative system should be constructed.