Radon causes Cancer: Direct Link established

A direct link has been confirmed for the first time between lung cancer and the odourless radioactive gas radon that is found in thousands of homes across Scotland.

Experts are now revising recommendations on maximum levels of radon in homes and workplaces in light of the new report from the United Nations.

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Twenty new studies involving tens of thousands of lung cancer patients across the world have led scientists at the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) to believe that there is a small risk of contracting the disease if exposed to the radiation in the home.

Radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after smoking, causing as many as 2000 deaths in the UK annually, compared to about 30,000 deaths from cigarettes.

The publication of the research comes three months after Scotland's own radon map was produced, which highlights four areas with concentrations above the government's action level.

Wolfgang Weiss, UNSCEAR's vice chairman, said in Vienna: "Up to now radon has been a typical health risk no-one wants to accept or take note of."

He said the report was significant because previous estimates of radon risks were extrapolated from studies of uranium miners exposed to high levels of the gas.

"In the meantime we've done 20 studies in homes where concentrations are very low, and there we can see a risk, it is small, but it is certainly there," he said.

"You can avoid smoking by just taking personal decisions," he said. "But radon is everywhere. So you need to develop strategies to avoid the influx of radon into houses ... It's very simple to seal basements, for example with plastic foil."

Radon is a hard-to-detect radioactive gas that comes from natural decay of uranium. Some 84% of radon occurs naturally, in all rocks and most soils, and while quickly diluted when it escapes into the air, it can get trapped inside cellars and buildings.

Scotland's radon map highlighted an area south west of Aberdeen - between Ballater, Banchory and Auchenblae - and land in the Borders, near Langholm and Jedburgh, as having concentrations of radon above normal levels.

A small area on the coast north of Dornoch in the Highlands was also highlighted, as was the town of Invergarry and its surrounds.

Around 62,000 homes are located in radon-affected areas in total, although it is estimated that only between 1000 and 3000 of these will have radon concentrations above the level requiring action.