Radon – occurrence and impact on the health

Abstract

Radon is noble, monatomic, radioactive, heavier than the air gas. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless. It exists in natural environment as a result of the decay of radium, and emits mainly alpha radiation and less beta radiation. Residential radon concentrations vary widely by geographic area. The higher concentration of radon is expected globally in the grounds where uranium, radium and thoron are present. Radon may gather in caves, tunnels, mines as well as in other lowestlying spaces, such as basements, and cellars. In accordance with Atomic Law (2000), the reference level for the average annual concentration of radioactive radon in rooms intended for human habitation is 300 Bq/m3. The most dangerous damages caused by ionizing radiation i.e. radon and its derivatives are changes to DNA, which may disturb the functions of cells and in the consequence lead to induction of cancer of respiratory tract, mainly of lungs and also leukaemia. So, the main consequence of exposure to high amount of radon are cancers of respiratory system. Radon enters the human organism mainly through inhaled atmospheric air. Moreover, radon significantly increased a risk of induction cancer in smokers and vice versa, smoking promotes the development of lung cancer after the exposure to radon and its derivatives. Radon may also have beneficial effect on the human body. Therefore it is used in medicine; mainly in radonbalneotherapy i.e. bath treatments, rinsing the mouth and inhalation. Beneficial effects of radon confirms the validity of the theory of radiation hormesis, which assumes that low doses of radiation may stimulate the repair of DNA damage by activation of protective mechanisms, which neutralize free radicals.

Epidemiological trend of lung cancer burden caused by residential radon exposure in China from 1990 to 2019

“…During respiration, tiny α-radioactive particles produced by radon decay can deposit on the cells lining the airways, potentially causing oxidative damage to cellular DNA, thus disrupting lung cell function and leading to lung cell damage and cancer initiation. However, the specific pathogenic mechanism of LC induced by residential radon exposure remains unclear (Wu et al, 2021;Xin et al, 2022;Dobrzynska et al, 2023;Wang et al, 2023). The results of this study indicated that the burden of LC caused by residential radon exposure in China steadily increased over the past 30 years.…”

Hypothesis: Cancer Hormesis and Its Potential for Cancer Therapeutics

“…We posit that concomitant resistance in cancer, and its proposed mechanisms of action, can be explained as a hormesis response. Hormesis is a biphasic dose response in which a stimulus has a positive and/or stimulatory effect at low dosages and a negative, inhibitory, and/or toxic effect at higher dosages [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The observation that low dose radiation is possibly beneficial in certain circumstances is a classic example of the hormesis response [ 13 ].…”

Los Curie, la familia Nobel que cambió la ciencia

“…Atravesaron muchos problemas económicos y para tener más ingresos llegaron a tener un dormitorio para estudiantes en su apartamento familiar. Para poder rentar más dormitorios, María dormía en el sillón del comedor y se levantaba todos los días a las seis de la mañana para preparar el desayuno 4,5 . Cuando ella tenía 4 años su madre se enfermó de tuberculosis.…”