In the miners, about 40% of all lung cancer deaths may be due to radon progeny exposure, 70% of lung cancer deaths in never-smokers, and 39% of lung cancer deaths in smokers. In the United States, 10% of all lung cancer deaths might be due to indoor radon exposure, 11% of lung cancer deaths in smokers, and 30% of lung cancer deaths in never-smokers. This risk model estimates that reducing radon in all homes exceeding the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's recommended action level may reduce lung cancer deaths about 2%-4%. These estimates should be interpreted with caution, because concomitant exposures of miners to agents such as arsenic or diesel exhaust may modify the radon effect and, when considered together with other differences between homes and mines, might reduce the generalizability of findings in miners.
Epidemiological study of lung cancer in Czechoslovak miners discloses an increasing cumulative exposure above 1000 WLM. The course of exposure-to-effect relationship was different in the age subgroups, but was not at variance with linearity in the total followed up population of minen. A comparison of the findings of Czechoslovak and American studies up to 1973 is also presented.
Results are reported of epidemiological studies in six groups of miners, who work in U mines, Fe mines and shale clay mines. A significant excess of lung cancer was proved in exposure categories below 50 WLM, the first significant excess of lung cancer rate was found in the sixth year following the start of exposure, and a significant difference between the observed and expected rate was found in miners even before the fortieth year of age. The mean attributable annual cancer risk after about 30 y of observation in the whole study was approximately 20.0 and in persons starting exposure after 30 y of age the risk was approximately 30.0 per year per 1 WLM per 10(6) persons. The dose-effect relationship and the attributable lung cancer risk per 1 WLM were significantly influenced by the age at the first exposure by total accumulated exposure and by the character of the accumulation of exposure. The observed effects of smoking and exposure to alpha radiation from Rn daughters were nearly additive. The lung cancer risk per 1 WLM at low levels of exposure (not including the contribution from natural sources in the living environment) in U as well as Fe mines indicated a certain elevation compared with the risk at higher accumulated exposure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.