OBJECTIVE To compare ecologic classification of radon exposure from observed residential concentrations in BC with classifications based on a map that shows geological radon potential, with particular attention to high-smoking populations. METHODS First, residential radon measurements from four health agencies were used to classify 74 local health areas (LHAs) as low, moderate, or high exposu...

Introduction The potential hazards posed by exposure to radiation from radon have been of great concern worldwide, since it is especially associated with increased risk of lung cancer. Some radioisotopes of radon progeny deposited in the human lungs emit β particles followed by the γ rays. While γ rays are comparatively less damaging to the respiratory system than α and β particles, it is the p...

Exposure to indoor radon has been determined to be the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking. Canadian population risk of radon induced lung cancer was assessed in 2005 with the radon distribution characteristics determined from a radon survey carried out in the late 1970s in 19 cities. In that survey, a grab sampling method was used to measure radon levels. The observed rad...

BACKGROUND The objective of this investigation was to determine the effectiveness of Canada's residential radon exposure guideline in influencing individuals' health protection decisions. METHOD Homeowners with known exposure levels in a high residential radon area (Winnipeg, Manitoba) were surveyed to document what they had done and spent to reduce their exposure to radon. The 507 respondent...

Radon (Rn) is a naturally occurring radioactive element, a noble gas that is produced in radium disintegration. Radon has the biggest contribution to the effective dose obtained by population. Increased morbidity of lung cancer in uranium miners and an observation that radon exposure in certain houses may be comparable to the exposure in uranium mines have caused the increase of interest in rad...

Awareness of the health risks due to exposure to indoor radon has raised concern about its impact in the general population. Using all available epidemiologic results, our goal is to accurately estimate this risk based on data collected in a high radon potential region of France (Franche-Comté). For this study, we considered exposure (response relations derived from cohorts of miners and from j...

Retrospective assessment of exposure to radon remains the greatest challenge in epidemiologic efforts to assess lung cancer risk associated with residential exposure. An innovative technique based on measurement of alpha-emitting, long-lived daughters embedded by recoil into household glass may one day provide improved radon dosimetry. Particulate air pollution is known, however, to retard the ...

Over 50% of the average individual’s radiation dose comes from exposure to radon decay products. Two of the radon decay products, Polonium-218 and Polonium-214, account for the majority of the radiation exposure to the lungs. Because we are building homes without radon resistant features faster than we are mitigating homes to reduce radon concentrations, more people are exposed to radon than ev...

This article reviews studies on the contribution of radon and radon daughters to respiratory cancer and proposes recommendations for further research, particularly a national radon survey. The steady-state outdoor radon concentration averages 200 pCi/m3, and indoor levels are about 4 times higher. The primary source of radon in homes is the underlying soil; entry depends on multiple variables a...