[ RadSafe ] DEADLY radon...again

[Brennan, Mike (DOH)]

Parts of Tennessee are on karst geology, which can produce very high radon levels.  I have talked to people who have measured house that averaged in the multiple hundreds of pCi/l, with peaks in the multiple thousands.  Personally, if I lived in an area where such levels had been found, I would feel it was worth the $15-$30 to find out.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Stabin, Michael
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 5:20 AM
To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: [ RadSafe ] DEADLY radon...again


One of our local news stations is running this tonight:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee has some of the highest levels of radon in the country. The radioactive gas kills thousands every year. The widow of a Middle Tennessee Sheriff believes it may have killed her husband, and now she has cancer. NewsChannel 5 Investigative reporter Ben Hall looks at the danger inside their home, and what you should do to protect yours. Watch the report Thursday night on NewsChannel 5 at 10 p.m.

I sent them an email:

Radon does NOT kill thousands of people each year. Ultra-conservative models that fit functions through very high radon exposures and extrapolate down to normal, daily exposures, when projected over large populations, predict theoretical deaths. Money spent on mitigating these exposures could be spent on improving roads, vehicle safety, etc. and would save ACTUAL lives.


Mike

Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
Associate Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
Vanderbilt University
1161 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37232-2675
Phone (615) 343-4628
Fax   (615) 322-3764
e-mail     michael.g.stabin at vanderbilt.edu
internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com

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