Book chapter
Radon: An Overview of Health Effects
Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, pp.467-475
Elsevier B.V, Second Edition
2019
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09545-2
Abstract
Protracted exposure to radon and its decay products is one of the greatest environmental health threats. In this article, radon is used to refer to the gas itself (radon-222) and its decay products. In cases where the text focuses specifically on the gas, it is referred to as radon-222. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in North America and the leading cause of lung cancer for individuals who have never smoked. Overall, radon is also the leading environmental cause of cancer mortality in North America. It was also the first respiratory occupational carcinogen ever to be identified. The occurrence of radon-222 in homes has been known since the 1950s. In fact, surveys of homes built in alum shale-rich areas of Scandinavia identified elevated residential radon-222 concentrations as early as the 1970s.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Radon: An Overview of Health Effects
- Creators
- R.W Field - University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, pp.467-475
- Edition
- Second Edition
- DOI
- 10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09545-2
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2019
- Academic Unit
- Occupational and Environmental Health; Epidemiology
- Record Identifier
- 9983997484302771
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