A creeping suspicion about radon
Who would expect an odorless, invisible gas that occurs nearly everywhere on earth to cause such trouble Yet radon, the gas emitted by decay of uranium in the earth's crust, is one of America's most significant environmental risks, according to the EPA, which estimates that residential radon levels lead to approximately 13,600 lung cancer deaths each year. A new National Cancer Institute analysis of multiple studies of miners confirms early estimates, putting the number at 15,000. No other risk comes close, not even environmental tobacco smoke, which is estimates to cause some 3,000 deaths each year. Hot debate surrounds the assessment of risk from radon exposure to Americans via indoor air and water supplies. The primary culprit is not radon gas itself, but its decay products, including polonium-214 and polonium-218, which have long half-lives and emit alpha particles - positively charged particles - and lung cancer when inhaled. Radon seeps into homes from the ground or is present in water supplies. Waterborne radon may be inhaled as radon or its progeny during household use - cooking or showering - or it may be ingested. But the EPA estimates that water sources contribute only about 5% of total airborne radon exposure, leaving indoor air as the worst offender. While the EPA estimates that approximately 200 cancer cases per year result from exposure to radon from public groundwater systems, estimates of annual lung cancer deaths from indoor air radon range from 7,000 to 30,000.
- OSTI ID:
- 6644452
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Health Perspectives; (United States), Vol. 102:10; ISSN 0091-6765
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
LUNGS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
NEOPLASMS
RADON
RISK ASSESSMENT
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
WATER SUPPLY
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
POLONIUM 214
POLONIUM 218
PUBLIC HEALTH
AIR POLLUTION
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BODY
BUILDINGS
DISEASES
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FLUIDS
GASES
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MICROSEC LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NONMETALS
NUCLEI
ORGANS
POLLUTION
POLONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOISOTOPES
RARE GASES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
540130* - Environment
Atmospheric- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560151 - Radiation Effects on Animals- Man