Lung cancer radon cause

Care must be taken in handling radon, as with other radioactive materials. The main hazard is from inhalation of the element and its solid daughters which are collected on dust in the air. Good ventilation should be provided where radium, thorium, or actinium is stored to prevent build-up of the element. Radon build-up is a health consideration in uranium mines. Recently radon build-up in homes has been a concern. Many deaths from lung cancer are caused by radon exposure. In the U.S. it is recommended that remedial action be taken if the air in homes exceeds 4 pCi/1. 

Ttie major hazard from radon stems from its radiation of alpha particles, even though alpha particles (helium nuclei) can be stopped by a sheet of cardboard. When Rn-222 is inhaled, it decays into lead-210, which is also radioactive, and because it not easily exhaled, it remains in the lungs for long periods, causing lung cancer. It is estimated that about 10% of all lung cancers are cause by radon. 

Effects of indoor air pollutants on humans are essentially the same as those described in Chapter 7. However, there can be some additional pollutant exposures in the indoor environment that are not common in the ambient setting. From the listing in Table 23-1, radon exposures indoors present a radiation hazard for the development of lung cancer. Environmental tobacco smoke has been found to cause lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. Biological agents such as molds and other toxins may be a more likely exposure hazard indoors than outside. 

M = total mortality rate from lung cancer Mr = lung cancer mortality rate due to radon Mn = lung cancer mortality rate due to non-radon causes including smoking and all other factors, known or unknown r = average radon level in a county Then, from the linear-no threshold theory,... 

Our Assumption A is false and there is a strong negative correlation between radon levels in houses and exposure to other things that cause lung cancer... 

Radon is a radioactive gas that seeps into our homes, schools, and offices. It is produced by the natural decay of radium in the ground. Radon gas is thought to be a cause of some cancers, particularly lung cancer, as it seeps into the ground levels of buildings. Kits are available for testing the levels of radon that may exist in your home—particularly the basement or ground-level areas. 

Welders are typically exposed to a complex mixture of dust and fume of metallic oxides, as well as irritant gases, and are subject to mixed-dust pneumoconiosis with possible loss of pulmonary function this should not be confused with benign pneumoconiosis caused by iron oxide. Although an increased incidence of lung cancer has been observed among hematite miners exposed to iron oxide, presumably owing to concomitant radon gas exposure, there is no evidence that iron oxide alone is carcinogenic to man or animals. ... 

Radon is another example of a very curious and toxic compound that many of us regularly inhale, hopefully in small amounts. For those regularly exposed to radon, there is an increased risk for lung cancer and, for those that smoke, radon exposure results in a three-fold increase in the incidence of lung cancer. In the United States it is estimated that indoor radon exposure causes between 7000 and 30,000 lung cancer-related deaths each year, second only to tobacco smoking. Radon-222 is a colorless and odorless radioactive gas that results from the decay of radium-226, which is widely distributed in the earth s crust. Radon decays with a half-life of 3.8 days into solid particles of polonium. It is actually the breakdown of... 

Radon, the heaviest of the noble gases, has been much publicized in recent years because of a fear that low-level exposures increase the risk of cancer. Like astatine and francium, its neighbors in the periodic table, radon is a radioactive element with only a minute natural abundance. It is produced by radioactive decay of the radium present in small amounts in many granitic rocks, and it can slowly seep into basements, where it remains unless vented. If breathed into the lungs, it can cause radiation damage. 

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