[ RadSafe ] indoor radon

[Glennon, Patrick]

I have to agree somewhat with those expressing frustration at having their posts ignored.  Unless I missed the actual beginning, I believe I kicked this current indoor radon discussion off with a posting several weeks ago.  At that time I was commenting on the implications inherent in EPA's risk model as expressed in an article entitled "Estimated Risks of Radon-Induced Lung Cancer For Different Exposure Profiles Based On The New EPA Model" in the April Health Physics Journal.   I commented that the model implied that smokers should essentially live outdoors because almost no level of indoor radon should be acceptable for them and that never smokers would only very rarely need any mitigation of their indoor radon levels.  I also suggested that those conclusions could be adjusted for those who once smoked but have since stopped based on risk levels for their particular smoking history.

Although I have been following the ensuing posts and have learned a great deal about radon that I didn't know previously, I have noticed that no one ever actually commented on what I had written.  I had expected at least some comments from those who believe radon actually is a problem for never smokers but I didn't get a single one!

At this point, I am sure everyone has forgotten what I posted.  If it wasn't somewhat long, I would have included it here again.  If there is an interest, I will re-post it.

Patrick Glennon

P.S.  I apologize in advance for not distinguishing between radon and its progeny but I have two excuses.  One is that I don't really know squat about the nuances between them other than most of the dose comes from the progeny (just as it did in the radium needles that used to be common in medicine).   Two is because I was only commenting on that paper and it didn't explicitly say whether the risk was based on one or the other.

P.P.S.  Again, I'm no expert but the recent post from Bill Field giving a dose calculation from radon didn't seem to take into account the fact that radon daughters (in some unspecified degree of equilibrium) would also be floating around in the air waiting to be inhaled and stuck to the lungs.  His analysis only seemed to address those daughters which would be born while the radon was actually resident in the lung; those born previously were ignored.  He had said that right up front (as did the excerpt from the NCRP report) but it remains that the calculation is woefully incomplete without the progeny contribution.




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