- Domestic exposure to radon gas is responsible for a significant
number of lung cancer deaths, research has found.
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- The risk appears to be much higher for smokers.
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- The researchers conclude radon in the home causes approximately
20,000 lung cancer deaths in the European Union each year - about 1,000
in the UK.
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- The British Medical Journal study, funded by Cancer Research
UK and the European Union, is the largest ever of its type.
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- Radon is a naturally occurring, colourless, odourless,
radioactive gas found at varying levels in all houses in the UK and across
Europe. This research combines information from 13 smaller studies across
Europe, which involved 7,000 people who had developed lung cancer and 14,000
without the disease.
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- It found that radon exposure can cause lung cancer in
lifelong non-smokers, but the risk is low.
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- However, for any given level of exposure to radon, smokers
have about 25 times the risk of developing lung cancer than those who do
not smoke.
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- Previous studies of radon in homes have not been large
enough to assess the risks reliably.
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- Nor have they been able to examine risks separately in
smokers and non-smokers.
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- Professor Sarah Darby, of the University of Oxford, who
led the collaboration, said: "By putting together many different studies
we have shown that radon in ordinary homes is causing about 9% of lung
cancer deaths each year in Europe, which is 2% of all cancer deaths.
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- "In the UK, where radon levels are lower than in
many European countries, radon in ordinary homes causes about 1,000 deaths
each year, which is about 1% of all cancer deaths."
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- Smokers' risks
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- Professor Sir Richard Peto, also at Oxford University,
said that on average in Europe the absolute risks of getting lung cancer
by age 75 years at usual radon concentrations of 0, 100, and 400 becquerels
per cubic metre (Bq/m 3 ) would be about 0.4%, 0.5%, and 0.7%, respectively,
for lifelong non-smokers.
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- However, for cigarette smokers the risks are about 25
times greater - 10%, 12% and 16%.
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- Radon is formed from the natural disintegration of uranium,
which is present in ordinary surface rocks and in soil.
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- Radon that diffuses into the atmosphere usually disperses
rapidly but it can accumulate indoors, especially in small buildings such
as houses.
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- Lung damage
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- As radon decays it creates particles that can damage
the cells lining the airways of the lung.
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- This damage can lead to cancer and, as the lungs of smokers
may have many cells that are already somewhat damaged, the extra risk from
radon is much greater for them than it is for non-smokers.
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- The UK's National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB)
has estimated around 100,000 properties in Britain are significantly affected
by radon.
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- Earlier this year the NRPB reported concentrations of
radon up to 85 times higher than recognised safety limits in two homes
in Cornwall.
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- High radon levels in existing houses can usually be reduced
by changes to the ventilation system, such as improving underfloor air
bricks and extracting radon from beneath the building with a fan, although
this can cost up to £1,000 to install and £50 per year to run.
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- When constructing new buildings, however, low concentrations
can usually be achieved by enhancing the damp-proof membrane across the
full footprint of the building, at an extra cost of only around £100.
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- The researchers found lung cancer risk to be raised by
16% for every 100 Bq/m 3 of radon present in the home.
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- Professor Darby said: "We also found that there
is a detectable risk even in homes with levels below 200 Bq/m 3, which
is the currently recommended 'action level' in the UK.
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- "Indeed we estimate that about ninety per cent of
radon-induced lung cancers occurred in homes with levels of radon below
200 Bq/m 3."
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- © BBC MMIV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4113765.stm
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