Radon exposure estimates

Chronic inhalation of radon and its alpha-emitting progeny has long been identified with increased incidence of respiratory tract carcinoma in uranium miners of the Colorado Plateau and in Europe. This disease has been regarded as an occupational hazard from the sixteenth century until the mid-1970s, with exposure (and subsequent risk estimates) measured in units of Working Level Months. However, since the reporting during the last several years of elevated radon levels in homes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and several New England states, attention has centered on continuous exposure to families and to individuals of all ages and degrees of susceptibility to carcinogenic risk from this ubiquitous radioactive air contaminant. This paper addresses current estimates of risk to the members of the general population and the validity of recently promulgated action levels.