Radon Perspective

There is no "evidence" that increased radon exposure at low levels results in increased lung cancer.

On the contrary, there is substantial evidence that increased radon exposure actually DECREASES lung cancer risk (the higher the radon, the lower the lung cancer risk). The definitive study on this subject is "Test of the Linear-No Threshold Theory of Radiation Carcinogenesis for Inhaled Radon Decay Products," by Dr. Bernard L. Cohen, Health Physics, Vol. 68, Issue 2, pp. 157-174.

The abstract of the above article is reproduced below.

Another article that you might find useful is "Is Radiation Good for You?" by Will Hively, Discover magazine, December 2002, pp. 74-80.

Telling people to reduce the radon exposure in their home will actually increase their chances of getting lung cancer. Radiation exposure stimulates the immune system and makes people healthier and live longer. This is called "hormesis".

-- Abstract of Cohen article --

Test of the Linear-No Threshold Theory of Radiation Carcinogenesis for Inhaled Radon Decay Products
Bernard L. Cohen

Abstract- Data on lung cancer mortality rates vs. average radon concentration in homes for 1,601 U.S. counties are used to test the linear-no threshold theory. The widely recognized problems with ecological studies, as applied to this work, are addressed extensively. With or without corrections for variations in smoking prevalence, there is a strong tendency for lung cancer rates to decrease with increasing radon exposure, in sharp contrast to the increase expected from the theory. The discrepancy in slope is about 20 standard deviations. It is shown that uncertainties in lung cancer rates, radon exposures, and smoking prevalence are not important and that confounding by 54 socioeconomic factors, by geography, and by altitude and climate can explain only a small fraction of the discrepancy. Effects of known radon-smoking prevalence correlations: rural people have higher radon levels and smoke less than urban people, and smokers are exposed to less radon than non-smokers-are calculated and found to be trivial. In spite of extensive efforts, no potential explanation for the discrepancy other than failure of the linear-no threshold theory for carcinogenesis from inhaled radon decay products could be found.

Charles T. Rombough, PhD
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