Men and radon - a noble gas of many disguise - Part I and Part II

Radon-induced lung cancer can be traced back to the 16th century miners in Europe, but recently there has been a world wide concern that elevated radon progeny levels in dwellings may also be implicated in lung cancer. Historical and experimental evidence is presented to document how inhaled radon is distributed throughout the body and stored in fats and lipids. Background counts in a steel room using a human whole-body counter (HWBC) progressively decreased throughout the day, which is attributed to a lowering of radon as subjects entered the steel room. The observed increases in potassium-40 (40K) counts in marathon runners was attributed to inhalation of environmental radon, and radon progeny was verified by measuring contributions to the 40K photopeak by 214Bi in cyclists and an untrained subject who exercised in a room with radon-laden air. Effective half-lives and regional 214Bi emissions were found to be the highest in the areas of the head (brain) and stomach (omentum) when filtered radon-laden air was inhaled. These observations prompted analyses for radon progeny (210Bi and 210Po) from brain tissues of persons who suffered from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases (AD and PD). Protein in AD and lipids in PD were high in these progeny relative to the control tissues. Whole body counts (214Bi emissions) of subjects over a period of 24 years were analysed for radon body content (Rn-conc). Statistically significant correlations were found between total body fat and Rn-conc in women and between seasonal home radon concentrations and seasonal Rn-conc in subjects participating in community-based studies. It is concluded that environmental radon is indeed stored in the body, that body concentration correlates with body fat in women, and that these reflect seasonal concentrations in their dwellings. Radon decay products include a number of alpha and beta particle emitters. These emissions produce a radiation risk and may play a role in multiple sclerosis and mammary cancer as well as in cancers of other fat-rich tissues. This paper presents evidence that challenges current fallacies and misconceptions about radon uptake by the body and subsequent in vivo behaviour.(author)