A radioactive gas that is invisible, odorless and tasteless.
Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer following smoking.
Among smokers the risk of lung cancer is greater than among those exposed to radon.
Among the top 4 environmental risks to public health in the US.
It is released into the air or dissolves into groundwater as uranium in rocks or soil decays.
Causes lung cancer in uranium miners (Samet JM).
Second leading cause of lung cancer overall and the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers in the United States.
The risk of lung cancer is greatest in smokers exposed to radon, with 15-22,000 radon-associated lung cancer deaths annually.
Is a increasing the risk factor in non-smokers for the development of lung cancer.
Causes approximately 10% of lung cancers in the US each year.
There may be a weak relationship with residential radon exposure and acute childhood lymphoblastic leukemia.
It is estimated that one in every 15 homes as a radon level at or above the recommended action level of 4 µCi per liter of air.
Accumulates in closed spaces.
Increased levels is seen in underground rock mines, especially in those containing uranium.
Gas enters directly from the ore, and can be brought into mines when it is dissolved in water.
In indoor radon diffusion from subsoil remains an important source, and less significant sources include building materials and radon dissolved in water.
Concentrations are highest in the basement of a building due to its proximity to the subsoil.
Residing near uranium mines increases exposure to radon.
Radon levels vary throughout the US and are dependent on local conditions.
Indoor radon exposure varies from day to day, season to season, being more in winter and less in summer.
4 picocuries per liter of air has about the same risk for cancer as smoking a half a pack of cigarettes per day and delivers the same amount of radiation per year as receiving more than 200 chest x-rays.
Increased rate of lung cancer related to residential radon exposure of levels at 2.7 picoCuries per liter.
Radon-222 is a radioactive gas that forms from the decay of naturally occurring uranium-238 .
Uranium-238 is present throughout the Earth’s crust.
As a gas radon is relatively harmless.
Only a small fraction of radon gas is absorbed from inhalation.
Radon decay results in solid particles that can settle within airwaves.
Radon decay products include polonium-218 and polonium-214 cause injury by emitting alpha radiation.
Alpha radiation has a high linear energy transfer rate with low penetration and transfers more energy to its target causing ionizing events.
Alpha particles or capable of causing severe DNA damage, and such damage may also be mediated by reactive oxygen species produced in the cytoplasm and subsequently reach the nucleus.
Highest average radon concentrations are observed in Iowa and southeastern Pennsylvania.
Majority of radon- induced lung cancers are caused by low and moderate concentrations of radon, rather than by high concentrations.
Radon test kids are available.
Can be emitted from granite countertops.
Predominantly associated with small cell subtypes of lung cancer, but all histologic types of been described in association with radon including squamous cell and adenocarcinoma.