Methodology Issues in Risk Assessment for Radon

The alpha dose per unit radon daughter exposure in mines and homes is comparable at about 5 mGy/WLM. This means that excess lung cancer risk determined in follow-up studies of miners should be valid to extrapolating to environmental populations. There are several models currently used for risk projection to estimate lung cancer in the U.S. from indoor radon exposure. The accuracy of the estimates depends upon the quality of the exposure data and the models. Recent miner epidemiology confirms that excess lung cancer risk decreases with time subsequent to cessation of exposure. The most rigorous ecological study, to date, shows a persistent negative relationship between average measured indoor radon in U.S. counties and lung cancer mortality. A model for lung cancer risk is proposed that includes smoking, urbanization, and radon exposure. The model helps to explain the difficulties in observing the direct effects of indoor radon in the environment.