Radon Health Effects : Are
From
Science ?
Doug Kladder
We Moving
Away
We recently received a solicitation to review a government document regarding radon in multi-family buildings . It is great to see the identification 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 greater concern if this was written by a radon professional who does not fully understandd the science . So , what is wrong with the statement ?
The biological effects of elevated indoor radon are not from radon but rather the short- in lived decay products of radon. Most notably Polonium 218 and 214 . If there is radon the air within a home , there will also be the attendant radon decay products which behave as particulates and have strong electrostatic charges .
When one breathes in , air containing both radon and its decay products are inhaled. However , when one breathes out , the radon is exhaled , and because of the electrostatic charges of the radon decay products , they stick to the breathing passage and lungs.
Before your lungs have an opportunity to clear themselves through the escalatory function ( mucociliary transport ), the short-lived Polonium 218 and Po214 can decay, delivering a powerful alpha particle punch to the lung cell to which they are clinging .