Could Low Levels of Radon Actually Reduce Lung Cancer Risk?
Mar 26, 2008 Exposure to levels of radon gas typically found in 90 percent of American homes appears to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by as much as 60 percent, according to a study published in the March issue of the journal Health Physics. The finding differs significantly from the results of previous case-control studies of the effects of low-level radon exposure, which have detected a slightly elevated lung cancer risk (but without statistical significance) or no risk at all. The study, undertaken jointly by researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Fallon Clinic, and Fallon Community Health Plan, is the first to observe a statistically significant hormetic effect of low-level radon exposure. Toxins and other environmental stressors (including radiation) that have a beneficial effect at very low doses are said to exhibit hormesis, a process by which low doses of toxins stimulate repair mechanisms in cells. Home exposure to radon, a naturally occurring radioactive d
