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Radiation Protection Dosimetry 56:81-88 (1994)
© 1994 Oxford University Press
Radon: Occupational or Domestic Carcinogen?
An association between an excess risk of lung cancer and exposure to radon and its daughters has been demonstrated in uranium miners and in other miners. In various countries, radon measurements in dwellings showed that indoor radon concentrations are in the same range as in underground mines. Geographical epidemiological studies do not show an excess risk of lung cancer in people living in radon rich areas and case-control studies of domestic exposures lead to conflicting results. A joint study allowing meta-analysis of the results from 19 epidemiological studies carried out throughout the world should provide reliable data by and after 1995. Experimental data and biological data from radon-induced human tumours might allow the identification of tumours induced by irradiation compared with tumours induced by other agents. Until now, the role of domestic exposure in the occurrence of lung cancer remains unclear and therefore the usefulness of remedial actions questionable.