BEIR VI: Radon Rehash, under done

[MICHAEL S FORD <MFORD@pantex.com>]

It will be interesting to see how the BEIR Committee was
able to control for airborne exposures to uranium, exhaust
fumes with known carcinogens, and considerable external
gamma ray exposures BEIR VI when they were unable to
do so in BEIR IV.

It will also be worth watching to see what EPA does with
the new report, since their current limit was (according to
them) based on "what was then technologically feasible"
and not necessarily related to a particular health
consequence.  And since they're still projecting cancer
deaths based on the collection of minuscule individual
doses over large populations  -- a morally and scientifically
bankrupt approach -- I would expect to see more of the
same.

While the Russians and Europeans look to radon for
healthful effects (sometime using therapeutic
concentrations of 100,000+ pCi/l), our fear-inducing radon
industry is making big bucks by scaring the whits out of
people.

It was interesting to find in last weekend's US Today -- just
a few paragraphs below the projected annual radon death
toll -- the toll free number to find your $20 home
measurement kit.  Cha Ching!

A call to my local inspection service found that the charge
is 125 dollars for a 48 hour measurement at 18 inches
above the floor.  Hmmm.  Let's see... radon is the heaviest
gas known... Do you think we'll see anything?  I was told
that "the EPA says that anything above 4 [pCi/l] is
unacceptable." Oh yeah, remediation costs start at about
2000 dollars.

So you've got a petrified neighbor, worried about his 15
pCi/l radon measurement.  What do you tell him?

1.  If you want to, open your windows every now and then,
it'll probably help your allergies by removing some of the
pollens and molds that build up in your house.

2.  Eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of fruits and
vegetables.

3.  Exercise on a regular basis.

4.  Buckle your seat belt.

5.  Try to relax every now and then.

6.  If you do 1 through 5, radon is the least of your worries.

Michael Ford
Texas Radiation Advisory Board
Amarillo, Texas