Michael, the quote below is from, "Risk Assessment of Radon in Drinking Water," Committee on Risk Assessment of Exposure to Radon in Drinking Water, Board on Radiation Effects Research, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council, NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS, Washington, D.C. 1999.
http://books.nap.edu/html/radon/
"Figure 1
(see Public Summary) puts the inhalation and ingestion risks into perspective by
direct comparison of annual cancer deaths. The number of lung-cancer deaths in
the United States is estimated to be 160,100 in 1998 (ACS 1998). Using the
average of the two BEIR-VI risk models and adjusting for the 1998 increase in
the number of lung-cancer deaths, the committee estimates there will be about
19,000 lung-cancer deaths in 1998 attributable to radon and the combination of
radon and smoking. The committee estimated there might be about 20
stomach-cancer deaths in 1998 (with a subjectively determined uncertainty range
from 1 to 50 deaths) attributable to the ingestion of radon in drinking water as
compared to 13,700 stomach-cancer deaths that are estimated to develop in the
United States in 1998 from all causes (ACS 1998). Based on an estimated national
mean value of radon in drinking water, the committee estimates 160 lung cancer
deaths in 1998 (with a subjectively determined range from 25 to 280 deaths)
attributable to indoor radon (in air) resulting from the release of radon from
household water. The committee's analysis indicates that most of the
cancer risk posed by radon in drinking water arises from the transfer of radon
into indoor air and the subsequent inhalation of the radon decay products, and
not from the ingestion of the water." [Bold in the
original.]
The above comments and opinions are mine and mine alone. They do not intentionally represent the views of any other being, living, dead, or yet-to-be.
Jerry Falo, Ph.D.,
CHP
HMJF Professional Associate
Health Physics Program
USACHPPM
410-436-3548
gerald.falo@apg.amedd.army.mil
-----Original Message-----
Would
someone please point me in the proper direction to help me verify the
correctness of the following statement?:
"The 1999 report from the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) confirmed that radon in drinking water causes
cancer, primarily lung cancer from inhaling radon transferred into indoor
air."
I actually thought the NAS report showed that risk was
negligible.
Thanks in
advance,
v/r
Michael
TRAB
mford@pantex.com
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