BEIR VI and the Numbers???

["Kenneth W. Price" <75301.361@compuserve.com>]

Radsafers:

I read the Public Summary from the BEIR VI report on Radon and began
playing with the numbers.  Granted, it is a Monday morning and I hope I am
interpreting the numbers correctly, so...

        in 1995, 157,400 lung cancer deaths, all causes, ever-smokers and
                                       never smokers included

                           11,000 deaths all causes, never smokers ( 7% of
total)
                       146,400 deaths all causes minus never smokers (93 %
total)

      BEIR VI estimates 2,100 - 2,900 deaths in never-smokers due to radon,
or
                        19.1% to 26.4% of Lung Ca deaths in never smokers
due to Radon

      BEIR VI estimates 15,400-21,800 deaths due to radon and ever-smokers
and
                        never-smokers, leaving 13,300 to 18,900 deaths due
to radon and
                        ever smokers alone.  This is 9.1% to 12.9% of the
deaths in the 
                        group who ever smoked and exposed to radon.

It appears to me that if smoking and radon are synergistic,  one should not
see
twice the percent of cases in the never smoked group!  Have I missed
something here???  I have not yet read the Exec. Summary, but after all,
this is what was released for the public.

Kenneth Price, MPH, CHP
Radiation Safety Officer
University of Connecticut Health Center
Farmington, Connecticut