[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
RE: radon - documentation of exposure histories for Iowa study
Ray is an HP. Philippe is a research scientist. Maybe English is not
your native language, but you misrepreseent what I say and you guys seem
to be the only people on the planet that consider measurement in a house
to represent the actual dose to the lungs of a real person. It isn't,
and it makes a difference.
Regards, Jim
=========
-----Original Message-----
From: Rad health
Sent: Tue 15-Jan-02 1:13 PM
To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
Cc:
Subject: radon - documentation of exposure histories for Iowa
study
Jim Muckerheide,
Ray Johnson may not be an epidemiologist, but the point was that
Ray knows a
few things about radon exposure assessment. As far as Phillipe
Dupont, he
is a frequent poster of emails on your Radiation and Science
listserv and an
known anti LNT proponent.
If the Iowa study did not find an association, then they may
have said the
power was insufficient to detect an association as is likely the
case in
many studies with poor exposure ascertainment. But, the Iowa
study did find
an association so therefore the sample size was of sufficient
power to
detect an association.
I saw your "explanation" given to Les. It was nonsensical to me
as it
apparently was to Les. As far as your misrepresentations, I am
not sure
where to start. The latest item you have tried to mislead
people with is
that the Iowa Study did not obtain individual exposure histories
for each
subject. Your insistence is that because someone lives in Iowa,
that have to
be exposed to high radon levels. As Les, pointed out. In the
Iowa study
half, the people in the study were exposed to less than 4 pCi/L
(average
15--year exposure). Their exposure data was log normally
distributed (that
means they had a lot of data for lower exposed individuals).
The Iowa study did an incredible job documenting individual
exposure
including many supporting papers as Les has pointed out to me.
On one hand
we have your misrepresentation and on the other hand we have
these detailed
papers below laying out how they accounted for radon exposure.
------------------------------------------
Citation: Field RW, Smith BJ, Brus CP, Lynch CF, Neuberger JS,
Steck DJ,
Retrospective temporal and spatial mobility of adult Iowa
women., Risk Anal
18: 5, 575-84, Oct, 1998.
Abstract
Human exposure assessments require a linkage between toxicant
concentrations
in occupied spaces and the receptor's mobility pattern.
Databases reporting
distinct populations' mobility in various parts of the home,
time outside
the home, and time in another building are scarce. Temporal
longitudinal
trends in these mobility patterns for specific age and gender
groups are
nonexistent. This paper describes subgroup trends in the spatial
and
temporal mobility patterns within the home, outside the home,
and in another
building for 619 Iowa females that occupied the same home for at
least 20
years. The study found that the mean time spent at home for the
participants
ranged from a low of 69.4% for the 50-59 year age group to a
high of 81.6%
for the over 80-year-old age group. Participants who lived in
either one- or
two- story homes with basements spent the majority of their
residential
occupancy on the first story. Trends across age varied for other
subgroups
by number of children, education, and urban/rural status. Since
all of these
trends were nonlinear, they indicate that error exists when
assuming a
constant, such as a 75% home occupancy factor, which has been
advocated by
some researchers and agencies. In addition, while aggregate
data, such as
presented in this report, are more helpful in deriving risk
estimates for
population subgroups, they cannot supplant good individual-level
data for
determining risks.
------------------------------------------------------------
Medline ID: 21270976
Citation: Field RW, Steck DJ, Smith BJ, Brus CP, Fisher EF,
Neuberger JS,
Lynch CF, The Iowa radon lung cancer study--phase I: Residential
radon gas
exposure and lung cancer., Sci Total Environ 272: 1-3, 67-72,
May14, 2001.
Abstract
Exposure to high concentrations of radon (222Rn) progeny
produces lung
cancer in both underground miners and experimentally-exposed
laboratory
animals. The goal of the study was to determine whether or not
residential
radon exposure exhibits a statistically significant association
with lung
cancer in a state with high residential radon concentrations. A
population-based, case-control epidemiologic study was conducted
examining
the relationship between residential radon gas exposure and lung
cancer in
Iowa females who occupied their current home for at least 20
years. The
study included 413 incident lung cancer cases and 614
age-frequency-matched
controls. Participant information was obtained by a mailed-out
questionnaire
with face-to-face follow-up. Radon dosimetry assessment
consisted of five
components: (1) on-site residential assessment survey; (2)
on-site radon
measurements; (3) regional outdoor radon measurements; (4)
assessment of
subjects' exposure when in another building; and (5) linkage of
historic
subject mobility with residential, outdoor, and other building
radon
concentrations. Histologic review was performed for 96% of the
cases.
Approximately 60% of the basement radon concentrations and 30%
of the first
floor radon concentrations of study participants' homes exceeded
the US
Environmental Protection Agency action level of 150 Bq m(-3) (4
pCi l(-1)).
Large areas of western Iowa had outdoor radon concentrations
comparable to
the national average indoor value of 55 Bq m(-3) (1.5 pCi
l(-1)). Excess
odds of 0.24 (95% CI = -0.05-0.92) and 0.49 (95% CI = 0.03-1.84)
per 11
WLM(5-19) were calculated using the continuous radon exposure
estimates for
all cases and live cases, respectively. Slightly higher excess
odds of 0.50
(95% CI = 0.004-1.80) and 0.83 (CI = 0.11-3.34) per 11 WLM(5-19)
were noted
for the categorical radon exposure estimates for all cases and
the live
cases. A positive association between cumulative radon gas
exposure and lung
cancer was demonstrated using both categorical and continuous
analyses. The
risk estimates obtained in this study indicate that cumulative
radon
exposure presents an important environmental health hazard.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 107, Number 11,
November 1999
Intercomparison of Retrospective Radon Detectors
R. William Field,1 Daniel J. Steck,2 Mary Ann Parkhurst,3 Judy
A. Mahaffey,3
and Michael C.R. Alavanja4
1Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health,
University of Iowa,
Iowa City, Iowa, USA
2Physics Department, St. John's University, Collegeville,
Minnesota, USA
3Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington,
USA
4National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Abstract
We performed both a laboratory and a field intercomparison of
two novel
glass-based retrospective radon detectors previously used in
major radon
case-control studies performed in Missouri and Iowa. The new
detectors
estimate retrospective residential radon exposure from the
accumulation of a
long-lived radon decay product, 210Pb, in glass. The detectors
use track
registration material in direct contact with glass surfaces to
measure the
-emission of a 210Pb-decay product, 210Po. The detector's track
density
generation rate (tracks per square centimeter per hour) is
proportional to
the surface -activity. In the absence of other strong sources of
-emission
in the glass, the implanted surface -activity should be
proportional to the
accumulated 210Po, and hence to the cumulative radon gas
exposure. The goals
of the intercomparison were to a) perform collocated
measurements using two
different glass-based retrospective radon detectors in a
controlled
laboratory environment to compare their relative response to
implanted
polonium in the absence of environmental variation, b) perform
collocated
measurements using two different retrospective radon progeny
detectors in a
variety of residential settings to compare their detection of
glass-implanted polonium activities, and c) examine the
correlation between
track density rates and contemporary radon gas concentrations.
The
laboratory results suggested that the materials and methods used
by the
studies produced similar track densities in detectors exposed to
the same
implanted 210Po activity. The field phase of the intercomparison
found
excellent agreement between the track density rates for the two
types of
retrospective detectors. The correlation between the track
density rates and
direct contemporary radon concentration measurements was
relatively high,
considering that no adjustments were performed to account for
either the
residential depositional environment or glass surface type.
Preliminary
comparisons of the models used to translate track rate densities
to average
long-term radon concentrations differ between the two studies.
Further
calibration of the retrospective detectors' models for
interpretation of
track rate density may allow the pooling of studies that use
glass-based
retrospective radon detectors to determine historic residential
radon
exposures. Key words: case-control studies, dose-response
relationship
(radiation), epidemiologic methods, epidemiologic studies, lung
neoplasms,
radon, radon progeny, smoking. Environ Health Perspect
107:905-910 (1999).
[Online 15 October 1999]
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/107p905-910field/abstract.html
Address correspondence to R.W. Field, College of Public Health,
Department
of Epidemiology, N222 Oakdale Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa
City, IA 52242
USA. Telephone: (319) 335-4413. Fax: (319) 335-4747. E-mail:
bill-field@uiowa.edu
We thank J. Huber, C. Greaves, G. Buckner, J. Jesse, and E.
Berger for their
assistance with data collection. We also thank C. Lynch and J.
Lubin for
their reviews of previous versions of this manuscript.
NCI contract 263-MQ-820009 and NIEHS grant P30 ESO5605 supported
this
research. This report is solely the responsibility of the
authors and does
not necessarily reflect the official views of the NCI, NIEHS, or
NIH.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Medline ID: 99122934
Citation: Steck DJ, Field RW, Lynch CF, Exposure to atmospheric
radon.,
Environ Health Perspect 107: 2, 123-7, Feb, 1999.
Address: Department of Physics
Abstract
We measured radon (222Rn) concentrations in Iowa and Minnesota
and found
that unusually high annual average radon concentrations occur
outdoors in
portions of central North America. In some areas, outdoor
concentrations
exceed the national average indoor radon concentration. The
general spatial
patterns of outdoor radon and indoor radon are similar to the
spatial
distribution of radon progeny in the soil. Outdoor radon
exposure in this
region can be a substantial fraction of an individual's total
radon exposure
and is highly variable across the population. Estimated lifetime
effective
dose equivalents for the women participants in a radon-related
lung cancer
study varied by a factor of two at the median dose, 8 mSv, and
ranged up to
60 mSv (6 rem). Failure to include these doses can reduce the
statistical
power of epidemiologic studies that examine the lung cancer risk
associated
with residential radon exposure.
-----------------------------------
Medline ID: 99005221
Citation: Fisher EL, Field RW, Smith BJ, Lynch CF, Steck DJ,
Neuberger JS,
Spatial variation of residential radon concentrations: the Iowa
Radon Lung
Cancer Study., Health Phys 75: 5, 506-13, Nov, 1998.
Abstract
Homeowners and researchers frequently estimate the radon
concentrations in
various areas of the home from a single radon measurement often
performed in
the home's basement. This study describes the spatial variation
of radon
concentrations both between floors and between rooms on the same
floor. The
geometric mean basement and first floor radon concentrations for
one-story
homes were 13.8% and 9.0% higher, respectively, as compared to
their
counterparts in two-story homes. The median first floor/basement
ratio of
radon concentrations for one-story homes was 0.60. The median
ratios between
first floor/basement and second floor/basement for two-story
homes were 0.51
and 0.62, respectively. The mean coefficient of variation for
detectors
placed on the same floor was 9.5%, which was only 2.6% higher
than the mean
coefficient of variation found for collocated (duplicate)
quality control
detectors. The wide individual variations noted in radon
concentrations
serve as a reminder of the importance of performing multiple
radon
measurements in various parts of the home when estimating home
radon
concentrations.
-------------------------------------------------------
Field, R.W., Lynch, C.F., Steck, D.J. and Fisher, E.F..
Dosimetry Quality
assurance: the Iowa residential radon lung cancer study.
Radiation
Protection Dosimetry. 78(4): 295-303, 1998
-----------------------------------------------
Medline ID: 96384408
Citation: Field RW, Steck DJ, Lynch CF, Brus CP, Neuberger JS,
Kross BC,
Residential radon-222 exposure and lung cancer: exposure
assessment
methodology., J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 6: 2, 181-95,
Apr-Jun, 1996.
Abstract
Although occupational epidemiological studies and animal
experimentation
provide strong evidence that radon-222 (222Rn) progeny exposure
causes lung
cancer, residential epidemiological studies have not confirmed
this
association. Past residential epidemiological studies have
yielded
contradictory findings. Exposure misclassification has seriously
compromised
the ability of these studies to detect whether an association
exists between
222Rn exposure and lung cancer. Misclassification of 222Rn
exposure has
arisen primarily from: 1) detector measurement error; 2) failure
to consider
temporal and spatial 222Rn variations within a home; 3) missing
data from
previously occupied homes that currently are inaccessible; 4)
failure to
link 222Rn concentrations with subject mobility; and 5)
measuring 222Rn gas
concentration as a surrogate for 222Rn progeny exposure. This
paper examines
these methodological dosimetry problems and addresses how we are
accounting
for them in an ongoing, population-based, case-control study of
222Rn and
lung cancer in Iowa.
--------------------------------------------
Medline ID: 20329535
Citation: Field RW, Steck DJ, Smith BJ, Brus CP, Fisher EL,
Neuberger JS,
Platz CE, Robinson RA, Woolson RF, Lynch CF, Residential radon
gas exposure
and lung cancer: the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study., Am J
Epidemiol 151: 11,
1091-102, Jun1, 2000.
Abstract
Exposure to high concentrations of radon progeny (radon)
produces lung
cancer in both underground miners and experimentally exposed
laboratory
animals. To determine the risk posed by residential radon
exposure, the
authors performed a population-based, case-control epidemiologic
study in
Iowa from 1993 to 1997. Subjects were female Iowa residents who
had occupied
their current home for at least 20 years. A total of 413 lung
cancer cases
and 614 age-frequency-matched controls were included in the
final analysis.
Excess odds were calculated per 11 working-level months for
exposures that
occurred 5-19 years (WLM(5-19)) prior to diagnosis for cases or
prior to
time of interview for controls. Eleven WLM(5-19) is
approximately equal to
an average residential radon exposure of 4 pCl/liter (148 Bq/m3)
during this
period. After adjustment for age, smoking, and education, the
authors found
excess odds of 0.50 (95% confidence interval: 0.004, 1.81) and
0.83 (95%
percent confidence interval: 0.11, 3.34) using categorical radon
exposure
estimates for all cases and for live cases, respectively.
Slightly lower
excess odds of 0.24 (95 percent confidence interval: -0.05,
0.92) and 0.49
(95 percent confidence interval: 0.03, 1.84) per 11 WLM(5-19)
were noted for
continuous radon exposure estimates for all subjects and live
subjects only.
The observed risk estimates suggest that cumulative ambient
radon exposure
presents an important environmental health hazard.
Don Smith
----------------------------------------------
>From: "Jim Muckerheide" <jmuckerheide@cnts.wpi.edu>
>To: "Rad health" <healthrad@hotmail.com>,
<lescrable@hotmail.com>,
><jkotton@usgs.gov>
>CC: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
>Subject: RE: radon - and tackling the issues
>Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 04:11:47 -0500
>
You haven't read, or perhaps understood, the problem. See the
explanation provided to Les. If you think something is
"misleading," let me
know. It's just my take on the failure of radon case-control
studies.
And why Iowa is the worst place, despite Field's efforts to
relate a
lifetime of radon exposure to house measurements. It just can't
work,
and the study is too small to produce a credible, replicable
result.
Ray's a great guy, but his forte is HP training, and
communication. If
you want an expert on radon health effects try Philippe Duport
at U
Ottawa, with 40 years originally focused on the French miners
and the
industry, then to Canada, as a regulator, and nor at the
university. No
adverse radon effects at low-dose, low dose-rate, at much higher
than
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
************************************************************************
You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To
unsubscribe,
send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu Put the text
"unsubscribe
radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no
subject line. You can view the Radsafe archives at
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/