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Health Effects

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Environmental Radon

Part of the book series: Environmental Science Research ((ESRH,volume 35))

Abstract

The radon-related radiation dose to respiratory tissue and any resulting biological effects come from the inhalation of existing radon progeny in the air rather than from inhaled radon and its subsequent decay products. Once inhaled, radon gas quickly finds its way to the bloodstream. It is a chemically inert gas, and only a small fraction of that inhaled will be absorbed by the blood and not exhaled. Further, because the half-life of radon is relatively long compared to breathing time, only a small amount of it will decay while in the lung. The relatively short half-lives of the immediate radon progeny (excluding 210Pb and its subsequent decay products) preclude any appreciable radiation dose to nonrespiratory tissue or even to pulmonary lymph nodes. In addition, the longer-lived progeny will not grow in fast enough, or they will be substantially cleared before an appreciable radiation dose accrues to any tissue of the body. This is particularly true at environmental radon-exposure levels and is supported in both human and animal studies.

Work supported by the u.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830.

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  1. Biology and Chemistry Department, Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA

    Fred T. Cross

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  1. Office of the Administrator (A101F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 20460, Washington, DC, USA

    C. Richard Cothern

  2. Center for Research Information, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West St. Clair Street, Cincinnati, OH, 45268, USA

    James E. Smith Jr.

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© 1987 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Cross, F.T. (1987). Health Effects. In: Cothern, C.R., Smith, J.E. (eds) Environmental Radon. Environmental Science Research, vol 35. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0473-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0473-7_7

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