Indoor radon
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
The first awareness of radon as a health hazard came from observations of increased lung cancer incidence among uranium and other miners. During the past decade there has been increasing recognition of the importance of radon in the indoor environment as well. Extrapolations from radon exposures in mines to those in homes indicate that radon will cause a significant number of lung cancer deaths among the general population if its effects are linearly proportional to the magnitude of the exposure. For example, in the United States roughly 5000 to 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year are now attributed to indoor radon. Consistent with this, the effective dose equivalent from indoor radon is larger than the dose from any other radiation source for most people in temperate climates. Radon is a noble gas and can diffuse freely through the air. The most important isotope of radon, Rn-222, is produced in the alpha-particle decay of Ra-226, which is present in all soil and rock as a product of the U-238 decay series. In consequence, radon is present in both the outdoor and indoor environments, primarily due to its escape from the soil into the open air or into houses. The indoor concentrations are usually much higher than the outdoor concentrations, because the radon that enters into houses escapes relatively slowly. 120 refs., 12 tabs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 443932
- Journal Information:
- Advances in Nuclear Science and Technology, Journal Name: Advances in Nuclear Science and Technology Vol. 20; ISSN 0065-2989; ISSN ANUTAC
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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