Canadian Lung Cancer Relative Risk from Radon Exposure for Short Periods in Childhood Compared to a Lifetime
Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, 2720 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2013, 10(5), 1916-1926; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10051916
Received: 21 February 2013
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Revised: 25 April 2013
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Accepted: 26 April 2013
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Published: 8 May 2013
Long-term exposure to elevated indoor radon concentrations has been determined to be the second leading cause of lung cancer in adults after tobacco smoking. With the establishment of a National Radon Program in Canada in 2007 thousands of homes across the country have been tested for radon. Although the vast majority of people are exposed to low or moderate radon concentrations; from time to time; there are homes found with very high concentrations of radon. Among those living in homes with very high radon concentrations, it is typically parents of young children that demonstrate a great deal of concern. They want to know the equivalent risk in terms of the lifetime relative risk of developing lung cancer when a child has lived in a home with high radon for a few years. An answer to this question of risk equivalency is proposed in this paper. The results demonstrate clearly that the higher the radon concentration; the sooner remedial measures should be undertaken; as recommended by Health Canada in the Canadian radon guideline.
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Keywords:
radon-222; radon; indoor exposure; lung cancer risk
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MDPI and ACS Style
Chen, J. Canadian Lung Cancer Relative Risk from Radon Exposure for Short Periods in Childhood Compared to a Lifetime. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2013, 10, 1916-1926. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10051916
AMA Style
Chen J. Canadian Lung Cancer Relative Risk from Radon Exposure for Short Periods in Childhood Compared to a Lifetime. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2013; 10(5):1916-1926. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10051916
Chicago/Turabian StyleChen, Jing. 2013. "Canadian Lung Cancer Relative Risk from Radon Exposure for Short Periods in Childhood Compared to a Lifetime" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10, no. 5: 1916-1926. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10051916
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