Eleven cohorts of miners occupationally exposed to relatively high concentrations of radon showed a statistically significantly high risk of lung cancer, while three cohorts from the general population showed a relatively low concentration, but the results were not statistically significant. However, the risk of lung cancer tended to increase with increased radon exposure. The risk is likely to...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the relation between residential exposure to radon and lung cancer. METHODS A literature search was performed using Medline and other sources. The quality of studies was assessed. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the risk of lung cancer among categories of levels of exposure to radon were extracted. For each study, a weighted log-linear reg...

The evidence linking indoor radon exposure to childhood and adult leukaemia is reviewed. At the UK average indoor exposure of 20 Bq m, it is estimated that the radon derived equivalent dose accrued to the fetus is 106 μSv. The equivalent dose rate to adult bone marrow ~130 μSv y. Standard radiation risk factors suggest that 5% of childhood and 4% of adult leukaemia is linked to radon at 20 Bq m...

Naturally occurring radioactive elements are found in all groundwaters, especially in bedrock waters. Exposure to these radioactive elements increases the risk of cancer. The most significant of these elements is radon which, as a gas, is mobile and dissolves in groundwater. In Finland, water supply plants are obliged to carry out statutory monitoring of the water quality, including radon. Moni...

Charcoal canisters are commonly used to measure radon concentration for periods of 2-7 days. The radon absorption and desorption process is known to be sensitive to several environmental parameters such as temperature, relative humidity and radon concentration fluctuation. In the present study a set of exposures under different environmental conditions were done in the INTE radon reference cham...

Mortality from lung cancer was greater in Ontario uranium miners than in the general male population of Ontario (observed = 152, expected = 67.6, standardised mortality ratio 225, 95% confidence interval 191-264). Part of the excess of lung cancer may be because the proportion of men who are smokers or have smoked is greater in uranium miners than in Ontario men. Smoking does not explain the wh...

Attorneys and jurors will have their own ideas of radon health risks before hearing any testimony. For most people, without radiation training, radon is mysterious because they cannot detect the presence of radon with their five senses. For some, radon may not represent a significant danger because people do not see any direct evidence of lung cancer due to radon. For others, radon as a radioac...

Cohort studies have consistently shown underground miners exposed to high levels of radon to be at excess risk of lung cancer, and extrapolations based on those results indicate that residential radon may be responsible for nearly 10-15% of all lung cancer deaths per year in the United States. However, case-control studies of residential radon and lung cancer have provided ambiguous evidence of...

In the present work radon concentration measurements were performed for one year in 12 different boron, chromium and coal underground mines in Western Turkey. Lucas cells and nuclear track detectors were used for the measurements of radon and its decay products. The effects of parameters, such as type of mine, gallery depth and ventilation rate, on the radon concentration in mine air were exami...

BACKGROUND Associations have been reported between maternal radiation exposure and birth defects. No such studies were found on radon. Our objective was to determine if there is an association between living in areas with higher radon levels and birth defects. METHODS The Texas Birth Defects Registry provided data on all birth defects from 1999 to 2009 from the entire state. Mean radon levels...