Radon

["Jim Nelson" <nelsonjima@HOTMAIL.COM>]

Paul,



The tobacoo products would also contain similar concentrations of 

polonium-210 whether in the U.S. or Sweden and likely be proportional to 

radium concentrations in the soils.  Do you think U.S. soils would have a 

higher concentration of radium then Sweden.  Do you know of any analytical 

results examining the thorium content?



I have seen analyses by the tobacco companies on the polonium content.

Your points are well taken and of great interest.



Jim Nelson



>From: Paul William Shafer <paulwilliam_s@yahoo.com>

>To: Jim Nelson <nelsonjima@HOTMAIL.COM>, radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

>Subject: Re: Radon and Never Smokers

>Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2001 06:28:47 -0700 (PDT)

>

>Jim et al.

>

>I do not find this study at all surprising. It is very

>interesting. Radon's daughter products inhaled in a

>chronic exposure condition would have a greater lung

>retention and greater effect than the thorium and

>organics found in tobacco smoke. Certain tobaccos

>grown in higher thorium soil (red clays for example in

>Ky, Ga, Tn) would be worse than those grown in more

>humic soils (Va, NC). Many Europeans smoke cigarettes

>grown in low thorium soils with higher natural

>nicotine (less chemically induced nicotine

>enhancement).  These cigarettes are usually more

>expensive.  This may partially explain longevity in

>European cultures who have a larger smoking population

>than the US.

>

>Paul Shafer

>--- Jim Nelson <nelsonjima@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

> > Interesting article recently published.

> >

>http://www.epidem.com/article.asp?ISSN=1044-3983&VOL=12&ISS=4&PAGE=396

> >

> >

> > Residential Radon and Lung Cancer among

> > Never-Smokers in Sweden

> >

> > Frédéric Lagarde1; Gösta Axelsson2; Lena Damber3;

> > Hans Mellander4; Fredrik

> > Nyberg1; Göran Pershagen1,5

> >

> > From the 1Institute of Environmental Medicine,

> > Karolinska Institutet,

> > Stockholm;

> > 2Department of Environmental Medicine, Göteborg

> > University, Gothenburg;

> > 3Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Ume;

> > 4Swedish Radiation Protection Institute, Stockholm;

> > and

> > 5Department of Environmental Health, Stockholm

> > County Council, Stockholm,

> > Sweden.

> >

> > EPIDEMIOLOGY 2001;12:396-404

> >

> >

> >

>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> >

> > In this study, we attempted to reduce existing

> > uncertainty about the

> > relative risk of lung cancer from residential radon

> > exposure among

> > never-smokers. Comprehensive measurements of

> > domestic radon were performed

> > for 258 never-smoking lung cancer cases and 487

> > never-smoking controls from

> > five Swedish case-control studies. With additional

> > never-smokers from a

> > previous case-control study of lung cancer and

> > residential radon exposure in

> > Sweden, a total of 436 never-smoking lung cancer

> > cases diagnosed in Sweden

> > between 1980 and 1995 and 1,649 never-smoking

> > controls were included. The

> > relative risks (with 95% confidence intervals in

> > parentheses) of lung cancer

> > in relation to categories of time-weighted average

> > domestic radon

> > concentration during three decades, delimited by

> > cutpoints at 50, 80, and

> > 140 Bq m–3, were 1.08 (0.8–1.5), 1.18 (0.9–1.6), and

> > 1.44 (1.0–2.1),

> > respectively, with average radon concentrations

> > below 50 Bq m–3 used as

> > reference category and with adjustment for other

> > risk factors. The data

> > suggested that among never-smokers residential radon

> > exposure may be more

> > harmful for those exposed to environmental tobacco

> > smoke. Overall, an excess

> > relative risk of 10% per 100 Bq m–3 average radon

> > concentration was

> > estimated, which is similar to the summary effect

> > estimate for all subjects

> > in the main residential radon studies to date.

> >

> > Keywords: case-control study; lung neoplasms; risk

> > assessment; radon;

> > never-smokers; cocarcinogenesis; tobacco smoke

> > pollution; environmental

> > exposures

> >

> >

> >

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