Review of radon and lung cancer risk

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Risk Analysis; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.1990.tb01021.x· OSTI ID:6772130

Samet, J M; Hornung, R W ^[1]

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1. Univ. of New Mexico Medical Center, Albuquerque (USA)

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.

• OSTI ID: 6772130
• Journal Information: Risk Analysis; (USA), Journal Name: Risk Analysis; (USA) Vol. 10:1; ISSN RIAND; ISSN 0272-4332
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560161* -- Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology-- Man
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
BIOLOGICAL MODELS
BODY
DISEASES
DOCUMENT TYPES
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
EPIDEMIOLOGY
FLUIDS
GASES
LUNGS
MAMMALS
MAN
MINES
NEOPLASMS
NONMETALS
ORGANS
PRIMATES
RADIOINDUCTION
RADON
RARE GASES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
REVIEWS
RISK ASSESSMENT
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
URANIUM MINES
VERTEBRATES