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Title: Review of radon and lung cancer risk

Abstract

Radon, a long-established cause of lung cancer in uranium and other underground miners, has recently emerged as a potentially important cause of lung cancer in the general population. The evidence for widespread exposure of the population to radon and the well-documented excess of lung cancer among underground miners exposed to radon decay products have raised concern that exposure to radon progeny might also be a cause of lung cancer in the general population. To date, epidemiological data on the lung cancer risk associated with environmental exposure to radon have been limited. Consequently, the lung cancer hazard posed by radon exposure in indoor air has been addressed primarily through risk estimation procedures. The quantitative risks of lung cancer have been estimated using exposure-response relations derived from the epidemiological investigations of uranium and other underground miners. We review five of the more informative studies of miners and recent risk projection models for excess lung cancer associated with radon. The principal models differ substantially in their underlying assumptions and consequently in the resulting risk projections. The resulting diversity illustrates the substantial uncertainty that remains concerning the most appropriate model of the temporal pattern of radon-related lung cancer. Animal experiments, further follow-up of themore » miner cohorts, and well-designed epidemiological studies of indoor exposure should reduce this uncertainty. 18 references.« less

Authors:
;  [1]
  1. Univ. of New Mexico Medical Center, Albuquerque (USA)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
6772130
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Risk Analysis; (USA)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 10:1; Journal ID: ISSN 0272-4332
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.; LUNGS; NEOPLASMS; RADIOINDUCTION; RADON; RISK ASSESSMENT; BIOLOGICAL MODELS; DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE; EPIDEMIOLOGY; MAN; REVIEWS; URANIUM MINES; ANIMALS; BODY; DISEASES; DOCUMENT TYPES; ELEMENTS; FLUIDS; GASES; MAMMALS; MINES; NONMETALS; ORGANS; PRIMATES; RARE GASES; RESPIRATORY SYSTEM; UNDERGROUND FACILITIES; VERTEBRATES; 560161* - Radionuclide Effects, Kinetics, & Toxicology- Man

Citation Formats

Samet, J M, and Hornung, R W. Review of radon and lung cancer risk. United States: N. p., 1990. Web. doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.1990.tb01021.x.
Samet, J M, & Hornung, R W. Review of radon and lung cancer risk. United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.1990.tb01021.x
Samet, J M, and Hornung, R W. 1990. "Review of radon and lung cancer risk". United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.1990.tb01021.x.
@article{osti_6772130,
title = {Review of radon and lung cancer risk},
author = {Samet, J M and Hornung, R W},
abstractNote = {Radon, a long-established cause of lung cancer in uranium and other underground miners, has recently emerged as a potentially important cause of lung cancer in the general population. The evidence for widespread exposure of the population to radon and the well-documented excess of lung cancer among underground miners exposed to radon decay products have raised concern that exposure to radon progeny might also be a cause of lung cancer in the general population. To date, epidemiological data on the lung cancer risk associated with environmental exposure to radon have been limited. Consequently, the lung cancer hazard posed by radon exposure in indoor air has been addressed primarily through risk estimation procedures. The quantitative risks of lung cancer have been estimated using exposure-response relations derived from the epidemiological investigations of uranium and other underground miners. We review five of the more informative studies of miners and recent risk projection models for excess lung cancer associated with radon. The principal models differ substantially in their underlying assumptions and consequently in the resulting risk projections. The resulting diversity illustrates the substantial uncertainty that remains concerning the most appropriate model of the temporal pattern of radon-related lung cancer. Animal experiments, further follow-up of the miner cohorts, and well-designed epidemiological studies of indoor exposure should reduce this uncertainty. 18 references.},
doi = {10.1111/j.1539-6924.1990.tb01021.x},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6772130}, journal = {Risk Analysis; (USA)},
issn = {0272-4332},
number = ,
volume = 10:1,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1990},
month = {Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1990}
}