Health effects of radon: A review of the literature
- 1 January 2009
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in International Journal of Radiation Biology
- Vol. 85 (1), 57-69
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09553000802635054
Abstract
Radon is natural radioactive noble gas that can be found in soil, water, outdoor and indoor air. Exposure to radon accounts for more that 50% of the annual effective dose of natural radioactivity. The purpose of the current review is to summarize recent literature and evaluate the weight of evidence on the adverse health effects of radon.Radon is an established human lung carcinogen based on human epidemiological data supported by experimental evidence of mutagenesis studies in cell culture and laboratory animals. Extrapolation from cohort studies on miners suggested that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer death after tobacco smoke. The majority of studies on the relationship between radon and other types of cancers showed weak or no association. Low levels of radon can be found in drinking water; however, radon released during water usage adds small quantities to indoor radon concentration. Studies showed that the risk of stomach cancer and other gastrointestinal malignancies from radon in drinking water is small. Studies of the genetic and cytogenetic effects of indoor radon yielded equivocal results; while radon exposure in miners induces gene mutations and chromosomal aberrations. Numerous in vitro cytogenetic studies demonstrated that radon induces different types of genetic and cytogenetic damage that is likely to play a role in radon lung carcinogenesis.Keywords
This publication has 92 references indexed in Scilit:
- Radon: Sources, Health Risks, and Hazard MappingAMBIO, 2007
- Radon and other natural radionuclides in drinking water and risk of stomach cancer: A case-cohort study in FinlandInternational Journal of Cancer, 2005
- Man-made mineral (vitreous) fibres: evaluations of cancer hazards by the IARC Monographs ProgrammeMutation research. Reviews in mutation research, 2004
- Exposure to Residential Radon and Lung Cancer in Spain: A Population-based Case-Control StudyAmerican Journal of Epidemiology, 2002
- Residential radon exposure and risk of lung cancer in Missouri.American Journal of Public Health, 1999
- Indoor Radon Exposure and Risk of Lung Cancer: a Nested Case--Control Study in FinlandJNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1996
- Quantification of FISH-painted chromosome aberrations after domestic radon exposureInternational Journal of Radiation Biology, 1996
- Cancer risks from exposure to radon in homes.Environmental Health Perspectives, 1995
- Chromosome aberrations in peripheral lymphocytes from occupants of houses with elevated indoor radon concentrationsMutation research. Reviews in mutation research, 1994
- Radioactivity and radon exhalation rates of building materials in The NetherlandsScience of The Total Environment, 1985