Lung Cancer Risk for Miners and Atomic Bomb Survivors and its Relevance to Indoor Exposure

Abstract

Radiological, medical and demoscopial data necessary for the assessment of the lung cancer risk due to radon daughter exposure are reviwed. Exposure data available from epidemiological studies of miners are either largely based on questionable methods of oversimplified assumptions (e.g. US/Canadian uranium miners) or of surprisingly small variability (e.g. CSSR), despite the influence of many parameters responsible for large spatial and temporal exposure fluctuations. The lack of important data for non-radiological factors as well as the uncertainty in lung cancer diagnostics is discussed. The methodology for exposure assessment of A-bomb survivors and the scarce data on non-radiation factors is discussed. Due to the large uncertainties associated with the high level exposure of either population group the reliability of a risk assessment for low level indoor exposure remains obscure.