Center for Environmental Research and Technology , Inc .
Radon Health Effects
: Are Away From Science ?
Doug Kladder
We Moving
We recently received a solicitation to review a government document regarding radon in multi-family buildings . It is great to see the identificationn of radon hazards occurring in more and more situations . However , what disturbed me was a preamble explanation as to how radon causes lung cancer . The document contained the following sentence [ 1 ] :
“ The most common pathway for human exposure to radon is inhalation indoors . When inhaled , some radon gas remains trapped in the lungs , and sensitive lung tissue can be exposed to radiation as it decays ”.
On the surface this may seem like an okay statement for the general public . However , it is inaccurate and perpetuates a common misconception about the health effects of radon which is contrary to the known mechanism . One may assume this was written by an uninformed staffer , but of greaterr concern if this was written by a radon professional who does not fully understand the science .