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Radiochemistry Unit - Health Information Table of Contents | Ordering | Collection Kits | Price Schedule | Analysis | Test Interpretation | Radon Information | Health Information | Decay Chains | Research | DNR Quarterly Reports | Useful Links Radon Health Information See also: radon test interpretations, Consumer Research Council (CRC), Wisconsin Radon Information Centers LUNG CANCER AND RADON Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking. That's why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Surgeon General strongly recommend that all homes be tested and, if a problem exists, corrective action be taken. Your lung cancer risk from Radon is determined by the amount you're exposed to, and the length of time you're exposed to it. The higher the level, the greater the risk. The chance of lung cancer after many decades of breathing 4 pCi/L in the air in your house is about 0.2% to 0.5% if you never smoke, 1.5% for former smokers who quit within the last five or ten years, and 3% for current smokers, assuming you spend 75% of the time breathing radon at 4 pCi/L. Note that, because main-floor radon levels are typically about half of basement radon levels, one should not use basement radon measurements to estimate the risk from radon unless the basement is occupied for a large portion of the time that residents are in the house. For further information about Radon and lung cancer, see the EPA radon web page. For a comprehensive technical report, see Health Effects of Exposure to Indoor Radon, BEIR VI, issued by the National Academy of Sciences in February 1998. High levels of Radon are dangerous to you and your family. When follow-up Radon measurements in occupied levels of your home are high, you should take bids on Radon mitigation work by professionals included on the Radon Contractor Proficiency list. The primary health risk from radon is the development of lung cancer from the inhalation of air-borne radon (Milvy and Cothern 1990). Radon in drinking water can become air-born during normal household activities such as using the shower, flushing toilets, or using the washing machine. The direct ingestion of radon in drinking water also has health implications. It is believed that ingestion of radon may lead to other types of cancers of internal organs (Mills 1990). About half of radon's health risks, when it is in drinking water, come from inhalation of radon and about half comes from ingestion of radon (Milvy and Cothern 1990). Mills, W. 1990. Risk Assessment and Control Management of Radon in Drinking Water, in Radon, Radium, and Uranium in Drinking Water, Cothern, R. and Rebers, P. eds. pp. 27-37. Milvy, P. and Cothern, R. 1990. Scientific Background for the Development of Regulations for Radionuclides in Drinking Water; in Radon, Radium, and Uranium in Drinking Water, Cothern, R. and Rebers, P. eds. pp. 1-16. Report on Radon from National Academy of Sciences Strongly Supports EPA's Lung Cancer Risk Assessment Excerpted from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services' Radon Web site. The National Academy of Sciences is an autonomous body of 1800 of the nation's top scientists with the chief function of advising the government on scientific /technical issues. This 750-page report, called BEIR6 for short, is from their appointed committee of 12 of the best experts in the field, and was reviewed before publication by an equally large group. You can't get a more comprehensive, technically-competent overall view of the risk from radon. Consideration of studies, which you may have heard indicate the risk from radon is much lower than EPA says, is included in this report. Individual studies are put into context with their statistical significance and all other relevant considerations. Masses of data are assembled, and re-analyzed in some cases. No single research study is relied upon, but rather a quality- and significance-weighted overall picture of all research results is presented. Included are many minor studies, studies of radon in homes of lung cancer victims versus homes of controls, other epidemiology studies, animal studies, laboratory genetics and radiobiology studies. An extensive executive summary is on the web at www.nap.edu. What has been confirmed by the BEIR VI committee is that residential levels of 4 pCi/L give a fraction of a percent chance of getting lung cancer, for nonsmokers (higher for smokers) over a lifetime of exposure. It says the risk is proportional to the radon level down to EPA's action level of 4 pCi/L, and probably below that. PERCENT > 4 pCi/L, MAIN FLOOR Y'R AVG 48,000 Measurements, 10/95  Radium behaves similarly to calcium when ingested. Because approximately 90 percent of radium in the body is deposited in the bones, the primary health risk of radium is bone cancer (Hahn 1984). It has been estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that 44 excess cancer deaths per million people will occur from the continuous ingestion of water at 5 pCi/L over a lifetime (Hahn 1984). Although it is not clear from the reference, most risk assessments are conservative so this risk is probably an upper limit risk or at least it overestimates the mean risk (Bro et al. 1987). Nevertheless, most authorities believe that any dose poses some risk (Hahn 1984). Children are more susceptible to the effects of radiation than are adults because their bodies are growing and radiation has its most profound effects on cells that are actively dividing (Haschke et al. 1987). Bro, K., Sonzogni, W., and Hanson, M. 1987. Relative Cancer Risks of Chemical Contaminants in the Great Lakes. Environmental Management. Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 495-505. Hahn, N., 1984. Radium in Wisconsin Groundwater and Removal Methods for Community Water Systems. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. pp. 1-125. 316, No. 7, pp. 409-410. Haschke, F., Pietschnig, B., Karg, V., Vanura, H., and Schuster, E. 1987. Radioactivity in Austrian Milk After the Chernobyl Accident. New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 316, No. 7, pp. 409-410. The following information is copied from the Federal Register (40 CFR Parts 141 and 142 National Primary Drinking Water Regulations; Radionuclides; Proposed Rule) / vol. 56, No. 138 / Thursday July 18, 1991 / Proposed Rules Exposure to uranium(U) is of concern because of the radioactive nature of uranium and its ubiquitous occurrence in the environment, including water supplies. Kidney toxicity and carcinogenicity are the primary adverse effects of concerns associated exposure to uranium (EPA, 1991e). EPA proposes to regulate Uranium at the level that will be protective of both its kidney toxicity and its carcinogenic potential as well. Studies in both humans and animals show uranium toxicity to the kidneys . The EPA has also classified uranium in group A as a human carcinogen (sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans) based on the fact that uranium emits alpha radiation , a well-established carcinogen (which is also classified in group A; EPA , 1991p) and uranium is an analogue of radium 226, a well known human carcinogen in bone (EPA, 1991e). Radiochemistry Home Page | Table of Contents
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