RADON IN HOMES - A POSSIBLE CAUSE OF LUNG-CANCER

An earlier case-referent study indicated a possible relationship between cancer and exposure to Rn and Rn daughters in dwellings. Indoor Rn concentrations seemed to depend on building material and leakage of RN from the ground. This new study, in a rural area, was a further attempt to elucidate the etiology of lung cancer, taking into consideration type of house and ground conditions, and smoking habits. Although the choice of a rural study population helped to eliminate various confounding exposures in the urban environment, it limited the size of the study because of the rareness of lung cancer in rural populations. Long-term residents, .gtoreq. 30 yr in the same houses, were studied, and an association was found between lung cancer and estimated exposure to Rn and Rn daughters in homes. The data also seemed to indicate the possibility of a multiplicative effect between smoking exposure to Rn and Rn daughters in homes, but there was also some confounding between these factors in the data.