Summary document on the health effects of radon

Abstract

The National Radiological Protection Board has produced a short (9000word) summary document on the health effects of radon. It is designed toprovide a compact summary for health professionals and for laymen withenough interest to want more detail than is provided in, say, the DETR's'Householder's Guide'. Short chapters give an outline of the levels ofexposure to radon in the UK and the resulting effects, of UK policy onthe control of exposures, and on the practical ways in which this policy isrealised.However, the main interest is likely to lie in an appendix in which theevidence for the lung cancer risk of radon exposure is discussed.Application of the BEIR VI models to current UK circumstances wouldimply that a lifetime's exposure at the UK action level of200 Bq m-3 carries a lung cancer risk of 3-5%, and that a quarter to ahalf of these deaths would be in non-smokers. Previous estimates wouldhave been at the lower end of these ranges.A further appendix discusses radon exposure and the risks of cancersother than lung cancer. Doses to the skin of the face can be comparableto those to the lung. However, skin cancers are generally far lessserious than lung cancers.