Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The general effects of radon to the human body are caused by its radioactivity and consequent risk of radiation-induced cancer. Lung cancer is the only observed consequence of high concentration radon exposures; both human and animal studies indicate that the lung and respiratory system are the primary targets of radon daughter-induced toxicity ...
Epidemiological evidence shows a clear link between lung cancer and high concentrations of radon, with 21,000 radon-induced U.S. lung cancer deaths per year—second only to cigarette smoking—according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. [5] Thus in geographic areas where radon is present in heightened concentrations, radon ...
Open-air stores also release radon at a level potentially hazardous to workers. [3] Radon is a noble gas that is heavier than air and thus tends to accumulate in poorly ventilated underground spaces like mines or cellars. Naturally occurring radon is considered the second most common cause of lung cancer after smoking. [15]
Radon is thus assumed to be the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and accounts for 15,000 to 22,000 cancer deaths per year in the US alone. [9] [better source needed] However, the discussion about the opposite experimental results is still going on. [10] About 100,000 Bq/m 3 of radon was found in Stanley Watras's basement in 1984.
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirable (from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) definition).
From January 2008 to December 2012, if you bought shares in companies when John B. McCoy joined the board, and sold them when he left, you would have a -19.1 percent return on your investment, compared to a -2.8 percent return from the S&P 500.
The energy and the type of the ionizing radiation emitted by a radioactive substance are also important factors in determining its threat to humans. [5] The chemical properties of the radioactive element will determine how mobile the substance is and how likely it is to spread into the environment and contaminate humans. [ 6 ]
Dispatchers last month received a 911 call from a Las Vegas area resident reporting extraterrestrial life in his backyard, about an hour after local police witnessed an object falling from the sky.