BMJ  2005;330:226-227 (29 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.38315.668009.63 (published 21 December 2004)

Science commentary

Radon blues

Geoff Watts, science editor1

1 28 New End Square, London NW3 1LS BMJ geoff@scileg.freeserve.co.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The publication of a new collaborative study of the effect of domestic radon on the risk of lung cancer is a reminder that this is a hazard to be taken seriously.1 Of course, health campaigners will rightly respond that radon gas, the cause of just under a tenth of deaths from lung cancer, is hardly in the same league as tobacco. That said, as a carcinogen worth tackling it does have one great "virtue." Unlike the perilous ingredients in materials that we choose to smoke, the threat posed by radon can be greatly reduced or even eliminated without a painful reliance on willpower or on the exercise of self denial. Unfortunately, the extent to which even the relatively pain-free remedies for dealing with it are actually applied is less then impressive.

The appropriate course of action will depend on the construction of the building and the level of radon to . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case-control studies
S Darby, D Hill, A Auvinen, J M Barros-Dios, H Baysson, F Bochicchio, H Deo, R Falk, F Forastiere, M Hakama, I Heid, L Kreienbrock, M Kreuzer, F Lagarde, I Mäkeläinen, C Muirhead, W Oberaigner, G Pershagen, A Ruano-Ravina, E Ruosteenoja, A Schaffrath Rosario, M Tirmarche, L Tomásek, E Whitley, H-E Wichmann, and R Doll
BMJ 2005 330: 223. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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