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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 ...
Treatment systems using aeration or activated charcoal are available to remove radon from domestic water supplies. There is no proven link between radon in water and gastrointestinal cancers; however, extremely high radon concentrations in water can be aerosolized by faucets and shower heads and contribute to high indoor radon levels in the air.
BEIR III 1980: “The Effects on Populations of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation” BEIR IV 1988: “Health Effects of Radon and Other Internally Deposited Alpha-Emitters” BEIR V 1990: “Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation” BEIR VI 1999: “The Health Effects of Exposure to Indoor Radon”
To achieve these aims, WHO has formed a network of key partner agencies from some 40 Member States. This network is the basis for the WHO International Radon Project which was launched in 2005. Working groups will collect and analyse information on radon risk, radon policies, radon mitigation and prevention as well as risk communication.
Very high radon concentrations (>1000 Bq/m 3) have been found in houses built on soils with a high uranium content and/or high permeability of the ground. If levels are 20 picocuries radon per liter of air (800 Bq/m 3 ) or higher, the home owner should consider some type of procedure to decrease indoor radon levels.
Maps of average radon levels in houses are available, to assist in planning mitigation measures. [8] While high uranium in the soil/rock under a house does not always lead to a high radon level in air, a positive correlation between the uranium content of the soil and the radon level in air can be seen.
Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) or becquerel per cubic meter (Bq m-3). Both are measurements of radioactivity. The World Health Organization (WHO) sets the ideal indoor radon levels at 100 Bq/m-3. [97] In the United States, it is recommend to fix homes with radon levels at or above 4 pCi/L.
A very low dose of a chemical agent may trigger from an organism the opposite response to a very high dose.. Radiation hormesis proposes that radiation exposure comparable to and just above the natural background level of radiation is not harmful but beneficial, while accepting that much higher levels of radiation are hazardous.