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[[File:ICRPGuide.JPG|150px|thumb|right|link=Guide_to_Radon_demoGuide_to_Radon|Take me back to the ICRP's [[Guide_to_Radon_demoGuide_to_Radon|Guide to Radon]]!]]Introduction
==What is Radon?==
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==Risk of Exposure to Radon==
<br/>[[file:RiskOfExposureToRadon.jpg|370px|thumb]]<span style= "font-size:115%;"> '''There is strong evidence that exposure to radon can cause lung cancer. Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.''' </span>
Smokers are more at risk from radon exposure than non-smokers. A lifetime of exposure to radon at 100 [[Radon: Units of Measure|Bq/m<sup>3</sup>]] increases the risk of lung cancer by 0.1% for non-smokers, and 2% for smokers.
''<blockquote> "Radon is the most important cause of lung cancer after smoking. It is estimated that radon causes between 3–14% of all lung cancers in a country, depending on the average radon level and the smoking prevalence in a country.” </blockquote>
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''… The cumulative risk There is compelling evidence from cohort studies of lung cancer up to 75 years underground miners and from case–control studies of age for lifelong non-smokers is estimated to be 0.4%, 0.5%, and 0.7% for residential radon exposures that radon activity concentrations of 0, 100, and 400 Bq/m3, respectively…its progeny can cause lung cancer…''
''… Cigarette smoking remains the most important cause of lung cancer… ''
''… review of the available epidemiological evidence shows no consistent evidence for an association between radon concentration and cancer, other than lung cancer.''
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Historically, PAEC was measured in units of Working Levels (WL).
1 WL= 2.08 x 10<sup>-5</sup>J m<sup>-3</sup>
===Quotes from ICRP===
[[ICRP Publication 65|Publication 65]]<ref name="Pub065">[[ICRP Publication 65]] Protection Against Radon-222 at Home and at Work - Ann ICRP 23(2) 1993.</ref> paragraphs 15-22
''The potential alpha energy … of an atom in the decay chain of radon is the total alpha energy emitted during the decay of this atom to stable <sup>210</sup>Pb…. The potential alpha energy concentration…of any mixture of short-lived radon progeny in air is the sum of the potential alpha energy of these atoms present per unit volume of air.… This quantity is expressed in the SI unit J m<sup>-3</sup>….''
''The potential alpha energy concentration … can be also expressed in terms of the so-called equilibrium equivalent concentration of … radon. The equilibrium equivalent concentration, corresponding to a non-equilibrium mixture of radon progeny in air, is the activity concentration of radon in radioactive equilibrium with its short-lived progeny that has the same potential alpha energy concentration … as the actual non-equilibrium mixture. The SI unit of the equilibrium equivalent concentration is Bq m<sup>-3</sup>….''
''… exposure … to radon progeny is defined as the time integral of the potential alpha energy concentration in air… The unit … is J h m<sup>-3</sup> … [or] the historical unit Working Level Month (WLM) … 1 WLM = 3.54 mJ h m<sup>-3</sup>… ''
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[[File:ICRPGuide.JPG|50px|link=Guide_to_Radon_demoGuide_to_Radon]]Take me back to the ICRP's [[Guide_to_Radon_demoGuide_to_Radon|Guide to Radon]]!
==More In-Depth Information==
===Risk of Exposure to Radon===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| Expert Summary of ICRP Recommendations on Radon
| [[Media:ICRPRadonSummary.pdf|ICRP Radon Summary]]
|-
| Lung Cancer Risk from Radon and Progeny and Statement on Radon
| [[ICRP Publication 115]]
|-
| Radiological Protection against Radon Exposure
| [[ICRP Publication 126]]
|-
| WHO Factsheet on Indoor Radon
| [http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs291/en/ www.who.int]
|-
| WHO Handbook on Indoor Radon