Why is Maine Choosing to Emphasize the 2 pCi/L clean up level now?
Historically, much of the concern about radon came from studies of uranium miners exposure to relatively high levels of radon gas. Over the past decade, there have been several very good epidemiological studies of people exposed to radon in their homes showing an increased risk of lung cancer. In recent years there have also been attempts to pool the many studies together to provide yet stronger evidence for the link beteen radon exposure in the home and lung cancer. These studies, coming from North America, Europe and China, confirm that the risks of radon at levels currently considered acceptable are indeed of public health concern. For example, even at an air level of 2 pCi/L, the estimated cancer risk for a mixed population of smokers and non-smokers is 1 excess cancer for every 100 exposed people (i.e., a risk of 1 per 100). For more information about these studies, see the Maximum Exposure Guideline for Radon in Drinking Water (MeCDC 2006).
