Exposure to radon gas is the second most common cause of lung cancer after smoking. A large number of studies have reported that exposure to indoor radon, even at low concentrations, is associated with lung cancer in the general population. This paper reviewed studies from several countries to assess the attributable risk (AR) of lung cancer death due to indoor radon exposure and the effect of radon mitigation thereon. Worldwide, 3–20 % of all lung cancer deaths are likely caused by indoor radon exposure. These values tend to be higher in countries reporting high radon concentrations, which can depend on the estimation method. The estimated number of lung cancer deaths due to radon exposure in several countries varied from 150 to 40,477 annually. In general, the percent ARs were higher among never-smokers than among ever-smokers, whereas much more lung cancer deaths attributable to radon occurred among ever-smokers because of the higher rate of lung cancers among smokers. Regardless of smoking status, the proportion of lung cancer deaths induced by radon was slightly higher among females than males. However, after stratifying populations according to smoking status, the percent ARs were similar between genders. If all homes with radon above 100 Bq/m³ were effectively remediated, studies in Germany and Canada found that 302 and 1704 lung cancer deaths could be prevented each year, respectively. These estimates, however, are subject to varying degrees of uncertainty related to the weakness of the models used and a number of factors influencing indoor radon concentrations.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by  

• Potential radon risk in permafrost regions of the Northern Hemisphere under climate change: A review
  Shengrong Zhang, Doudou Jin, Huijun Jin, Chunhai Li, Hu Zhang, Xiaoyin Jin, Jian Cui
  Earth-Science Reviews.2024; 250: 104684.     CrossRef
• Lung cancer in patients who have never smoked — an emerging disease
  Jaclyn LoPiccolo, Alexander Gusev, David C. Christiani, Pasi A. Jänne
  Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.2024; 21(2): 121.     CrossRef
• Soil CO2 flux maps as tools to reduce the risk on soil diffuse degassing areas
  Fátima Viveiros, Catarina Silva, Catarina Goulart, João L. Gaspar, Teresa Ferreira
  Frontiers in Earth Science.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Radon exposure risks among residents proximal to gold mine tailings in Gauteng Province, South Africa: a cross-sectional preliminary study protocol
  Khathutshelo Vincent Mphaga, Wells Utembe, Phoka Caiphus Rathebe
  Frontiers in Public Health.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Radon gas emission from home appliances: Understanding sources, implications, and mitigation strategies
  Talib K. Abed, Mohammed A. Fayad, Ahmed A. Al-Amiery, Hasanain A. Abdul Wahhab, Jabbar K. Mohammed, Hassan Sh. Majdi
  Results in Engineering.2024; 22: 102133.     CrossRef
• The correlation between indoor and soil gas radon concentrations in Kiraz district, İzmir
  Selin Erzin, Gunseli Yaprak
  Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Indoor Radon Concentration Levels in Healthcare Settings: The Results of an Environmental Monitoring in a Large Italian University Hospital
  Luigi De Maria, Stefania Sponselli, Antonio Caputi, Giuseppe Delvecchio, Gianmarco Giannelli, Antonella Pipoli, Francesco Cafaro, Silvia Zagaria, Domenica Cavone, Rodolfo Sardone, Luigi Vimercati
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2023; 20(6): 4685.     CrossRef
• The occurrence of bone and joint cancers and their association with rural living and radon exposure in Iowa
  Jonathan D. Nilles, Dooyoung Lim, Michael P. Boyer, Brittany D. Wilson, Rebekah A. Betar, Holly A. Showalter, Darren Liu, Elitsa A. Ananieva
  Environmental Geochemistry and Health.2023; 45(3): 925.     CrossRef
• Consequences of changing Canadian activity patterns since the COVID-19 pandemic include increased residential radon gas exposure for younger people
  Natasha L. Cholowsky, Myra J. Chen, Ghozllane Selouani, Sophie C. Pett, Dustin D. Pearson, John M. Danforth, Shelby Fenton, Ela Rydz, Matthew J. Diteljan, Cheryl E. Peters, Aaron A. Goodarzi
  Scientific Reports.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Bulgarian public opinion survey for risk perception including radon and suggestions for communication
  J.N. Djounova, K.G. Ivanova
  Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences.2023; 16(2): 100559.     CrossRef
• Lung cancer mortality attributable to residential radon: a systematic scoping review
  Lucia Martin-Gisbert, Alberto Ruano-Ravina, Leonor Varela-Lema, Marina Penabad, Alexandra Giraldo-Osorio, Cristina Candal-Pedreira, Julia Rey-Brandariz, Nerea Mourino, Mónica Pérez-Ríos
  Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.2023; 33(3): 368.     CrossRef
• The Relationship between Radon and Geology: Sources, Transport and Indoor Accumulation
  Leonel J. R. Nunes, António Curado, Sérgio I. Lopes
  Applied Sciences.2023; 13(13): 7460.     CrossRef
• Spatial modeling of geogenic indoor radon distribution in Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea using enhanced machine learning algorithms
  Fatemeh Rezaie, Mahdi Panahi, Sayed M. Bateni, Seonhong Kim, Jongchun Lee, Jungsub Lee, Juhee Yoo, Hyesu Kim, Sung Won Kim, Saro Lee
  Environment International.2023; 171: 107724.     CrossRef
• Radon level in groundwater in Kwara State, Nigeria, and the potential radiation dose due to intake
  Kabir O Jimoh, Janet A Ademola
  Radiation Protection Dosimetry.2023; 199(19): 2293.     CrossRef
• Characteristics of Natural Background Radiation in the GIG Experimental Mine ‘Barbara’, Poland
  Agata Walencik-Łata, Katarzyna Szkliniarz, Jan Kisiel, Kinga Polaczek-Grelik, Karol Jędrzejczak, Marcin Kasztelan, Jacek Szabelski, Jerzy Orzechowski, Przemysław Tokarski, Włodzimierz Marszał, Marika Przybylak, Robert Hildebrandt, Krzysztof Fuławka
  Energies.2022; 15(3): 685.     CrossRef
• Spatial modeling of radon potential mapping using deep learning algorithms
  Mahdi Panahi, Peyman Yariyan, Fatemeh Rezaie, Sung Won Kim, Alireza Sharifi, Ali Asghar Alesheikh, Jongchun Lee, Jungsub Lee, Seonhong Kim, Juhee Yoo, Saro Lee
  Geocarto International.2022; 37(25): 9560.     CrossRef
• Internal bonding microstructures characterisation between plant nanocellulose and concrete mortar mixtures for indoor Radon-222 gas emanation reduction
  Nur Atiqah Syahirah Shari, Mohammad Khairul Azhar Abdul Razab, An'amt Mohamed Noor, Nurfarah Aini Mocktar, Ros Syazmini Mohd Ghani, Mohd Zahri Abdul Aziz, Nor Hakimin Abdullah
  Construction and Building Materials.2022; 350: 128841.     CrossRef
• The level of free-circulating mtDNA in patients with radon-induced lung cancer
  Olga Bulgakova, Assiya Kussainova, Anuarbek Kakabayev, Akmaral Aripova, Gulim Baikenova, Alberto Izzotti, Rakhmetkazhi Bersimbaev
  Environmental Research.2022; 207: 112215.     CrossRef
• Estimation of lung cancer deaths attributable to indoor radon exposure in upper northern Thailand
  Kawinwut Somsunun, Tippawan Prapamontol, Chaicharn Pothirat, Chalerm Liwsrisakun, Donsuk Pongnikorn, Duriya Fongmoon, Somporn Chantara, Rawiwan Wongpoomchai, Warangkana Naksen, Narongchai Autsavapromporn, Shinji Tokonami
  Scientific Reports.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Novel Algorithm for Radon Real-Time Measurements with a Pixelated Detector
  Alessandro Rizzo, Francesco Cardellini, Claudio Poggi, Enrico Borra, Luca Ciciani, Livio Narici, Luciano Sperandio, Ignazio Vilardi
  Sensors.2022; 22(2): 516.     CrossRef
• A Monte Carlo simulation of unmitigated risk of radon exposure from soil and groundwater around Maiganga Coal Mine, North-Eastern Nigeria
  Adamu Usman Mohammed, Ahmad Zaharin Aris, Mohammad Firuz Ramli, Noorain Mohd Isa, Abdullahi Suleiman Arabi, Muyiwa Michael Orosun
  Arabian Journal of Geosciences.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Characterizing occupational radon exposure greater than 100 Bq/m3 in a highly exposed country
  A. Brobbey, E. Rydz, S. Fenton, P. A. Demers, C. B. Ge, C. E. Peters
  Scientific Reports.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Social factors and behavioural reactions to radon test outcomes underlie differences in radiation exposure dose, independent of household radon level
  Jesse L. Irvine, Justin A. Simms, Natasha L. Cholowsky, Dustin D. Pearson, Cheryl E. Peters, Linda E. Carlson, Aaron A. Goodarzi
  Scientific Reports.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Effect of moisture content on the 222Rn mass exhalation rates for different grain-size samples of red brick and cement mortar used in Qena city, Egypt
  Khaled Salahel Din, Nagwa Saad
  Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry.2022; 331(2): 833.     CrossRef
• Residential Radon Exposure in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer in Lublin Region, Poland
  Anna Grzywa-Celińska, Izabela Chmielewska, Adam Krusiński, Krzysztof Kozak, Jadwiga Mazur, Dominik Grządziel, Katarzyna Dos Santos Szewczyk, Janusz Milanowski
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(7): 4257.     CrossRef
• Promoting Community Awareness of Lung Cancer Screening Among Disparate Populations
  Lovoria B. Williams, Stephen W. Looney, Thomas Joshua, Amber McCall, Martha S. Tingen
  Cancer Nursing.2021; 44(2): 89.     CrossRef
• Development of an Automatic Low-Cost Air Quality Control System: A Radon Application
  Alberto Alvarellos, Andrea Lopez Chao, Juan Ramón Rabuñal, María D. García-Vidaurrázaga, Alejandro Pazos
  Applied Sciences.2021; 11(5): 2169.     CrossRef
• Spatiotemporal Variations of Radon Concentration in the Atmosphere of Zhijindong Cave (China)
  Xu Weng, Weijun Luo, Yanwei Wang, Guangneng Zeng, Shijie Wang
  Atmosphere.2021; 12(8): 967.     CrossRef
• Relationships among Indoor Radon, Earthquake Magnitude Data and Lung Cancer Risks in a Residential Building of an Apulian Town (Southern Italy)
  Luigi Vimercati, Domenica Cavone, Maria Celeste Delfino, Luigi De Maria, Antonio Caputi, Stefania Sponselli, Vincenzo Corrado, Vito Bruno, Gianfranco Spalluto, Giorgia Eranio, Giovanni Maria Ferri
  Atmosphere.2021; 12(10): 1342.     CrossRef
• The efficacy of public health information for encouraging radon gas awareness and testing varies by audience age, sex and profession
  Natasha L. Cholowsky, Jesse L. Irvine, Justin A. Simms, Dustin D. Pearson, Weston R. Jacques, Cheryl. E. Peters, Aaron A. Goodarzi, Linda E. Carlson
  Scientific Reports.2021;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Radon-222: environmental behavior and impact to (human and non-human) biota
  Mirjana Ćujić, Ljiljana Janković Mandić, Jelena Petrović, Ranko Dragović, Milan Đorđević, Mrđan Đokić, Snežana Dragović
  International Journal of Biometeorology.2021; 65(1): 69.     CrossRef
• Rising Canadian and falling Swedish radon gas exposure as a consequence of 20th to 21st century residential build practices
  Selim M. Khan, Dustin D. Pearson, Tryggve Rönnqvist, Markus E. Nielsen, Joshua M. Taron, Aaron A. Goodarzi
  Scientific Reports.2021;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Younger North Americans are exposed to more radon gas due to occupancy biases within the residential built environment
  Justin A. Simms, Dustin D. Pearson, Natasha L. Cholowsky, Jesse L. Irvine, Markus E. Nielsen, Weston R. Jacques, Joshua M. Taron, Cheryl E. Peters, Linda E. Carlson, Aaron A. Goodarzi
  Scientific Reports.2021;[Epub]     CrossRef
• A new radon prediction approach for an assessment of radiological potential in drinking water
  L.M.O. Martins, A.J.S.C. Pereira, A. Sousa Oliveira, L.F. Sanches Fernandes, F.A.L. Pacheco
  Science of The Total Environment.2020; 712: 136427.     CrossRef
• Assess the annual effective dose and contribute to risk of lung cancer caused by internal radon 222 in 22 regions of Tehran, Iran using geographic information system
  Mohammad Mirdoraghi, Daniel Einor, Farzaneh Baghal Asghari, Ali Esrafili, Neda Heidari, Ali Akbar Mohammadi, Mahmood Yousefi
  Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering.2020; 18(1): 211.     CrossRef
• Radon Concentration in Chandigarh, India using LR-115 detector
  Jeeban Pd Gewali, Manmeet Singh, Navneet Kaur, Kamaljit Kaur, Ankush Thakur, Bimla Jaishy, Atul Saxena
  Journal of Physics: Conference Series.2020; 1531(1): 012039.     CrossRef
• Health Impact of Fuel Poverty
  V. Condemi, M. Gestro, U. Solimene
  Bulletin of Restorative Medicine.2020; 98(4): 135.     CrossRef
• A high-throughput alpha particle irradiation system for monitoring DNA damage repair, genome instability and screening in human cell and yeast model systems
  Fintan K T Stanley, N Daniel Berger, Dustin D Pearson, John M Danforth, Hali Morrison, James E Johnston, Tyler S Warnock, Darren R Brenner, Jennifer A Chan, Greg Pierce, Jennifer A Cobb, Nicolas P Ploquin, Aaron A Goodarzi
  Nucleic Acids Research.2020; 48(19): e111.     CrossRef
• Radon in Dwellings of Papua New Guinea: Observations of a Preliminary Study
  P. J. Jojo, Philip Epemu Victor, F. B. Pereira, Gabriel Anduwan
  International Journal of Environmental Science and Development.2019; 10(6): 188.     CrossRef
• County-level indoor radon concentration mapping and uncertainty assessment in South Korea using geostatistical simulation and environmental factors
  No-Wook Park, Yongjae Kim, Byung-Uck Chang, Geun-Ho Kwak
  Journal of Environmental Radioactivity.2019; 208-209: 106044.     CrossRef
• Radon exposure is rising steadily within the modern North American residential environment, and is increasingly uniform across seasons
  Fintan K. T. Stanley, Jesse L. Irvine, Weston R. Jacques, Shilpa R. Salgia, Daniel G. Innes, Brandy D. Winquist, David Torr, Darren R. Brenner, Aaron A. Goodarzi
  Scientific Reports.2019;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Indoor air pollution and the contribution of biosensors
  Evgeni Eltzov, Abri Lavena De Cesarea, ‘Yuen Kei Adarina Low, Robert S. Marks
  The EuroBiotech Journal.2019; 3(1): 19.     CrossRef
• Ventilation as an Indispensable Tool for Healthy Constructions: Comparison of Alicante’s Urban Railway Tunnels
  Carlos Rizo-Maestre, Víctor Echarri-Iribarren, Antonio Galiano-Garrigós
  Sustainability.2019; 11(22): 6205.     CrossRef
• An Assessment of Groundwater Contamination Risk with Radon Based on Clustering and Structural Models
  Lisa Martins, Alcides Pereira, Alcino Oliveira, António Fernandes, Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes, Fernando António Leal Pacheco
  Water.2019; 11(5): 1107.     CrossRef
• Perceived Synergistic Risk for Lung Cancer After Environmental Report-Back Study on Home Exposure to Tobacco Smoke and Radon
  Karen M. Butler, Luz Huntington-Moskos, Mary Kay Rayens, Amanda T. Wiggins, Ellen J. Hahn
  American Journal of Health Promotion.2019; 33(4): 597.     CrossRef
• Competitive Endogenous RNA Network Construction and Comparison of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Smokers and Nonsmokers
  Yan Yao, Tingting Zhang, Lingyu Qi, Ruijuan Liu, Gongxi Liu, Xue Wang, Jie Li, Jia Li, Changgang Sun
  Disease Markers.2019; 2019: 1.     CrossRef
• Associations Between Selenium Content in Hair and Kashin-Beck Disease/Keshan Disease in Children in Northwestern China: a Prospective Cohort Study
  Huan Liu, Fangfang Yu, Wanzhen Shao, Dexiu Ding, Zhidao Yu, Fengshi Chen, Dong Geng, Xiwang Tan, Mikko J. Lammi, Xiong Guo
  Biological Trace Element Research.2018; 184(1): 16.     CrossRef
• Radon Levels in Indoor Environments of the University Hospital in Bari-Apulia Region Southern Italy
  Luigi Vimercati, Fulvio Fucilli, Domenica Cavone, Luigi De Maria, Francesco Birtolo, Giovanni Ferri, Leonardo Soleo, Piero Lovreglio
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2018; 15(4): 694.     CrossRef
• Indoor Radon and Lung Cancer: Estimation of Attributable Risk, Disease Burden, and Effects of Mitigation
  Si-Heon Kim, Sang-Baek Koh, Cheol-Min Lee, Changsoo Kim, Dae Ryong Kang
  Yonsei Medical Journal.2018; 59(9): 1123.     CrossRef
• Estimates of the Lung Cancer Cases Attributable to Radon in Municipalities of Two Apulia Provinces (Italy) and Assessment of Main Exposure Determinants
  Giovanni Ferri, Graziana Intranuovo, Domenica Cavone, Vincenzo Corrado, Francesco Birtolo, Paolo Tricase, Raffaele Fuso, Valeria Vilardi, Marilena Sumerano, Nicola L’abbate, Luigi Vimercati
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2018; 15(6): 1294.     CrossRef
• Logistic regression model for detecting radon prone areas in Ireland
  J. Elío, Q. Crowley, R. Scanlon, J. Hodgson, S. Long
  Science of The Total Environment.2017; 599-600: 1317.     CrossRef
• Risk assessment due to inhalation of radon in Coorg district, Karnataka
  M. M. Prakash, Kaliprasad C. S., Y. Narayana
  Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry.2017; 314(3): 2057.     CrossRef
• The conversion of exposures due to radon into the effective dose: the epidemiological approach
  T. R. Beck
  Radiation and Environmental Biophysics.2017; 56(4): 353.     CrossRef
• Quantitative Health Risk Assessment of Indoor Radon: A Systematic Review
  R Ajrouche, G Ielsch, E Cléro, C Roudier, D Gay, J Guillevic, D Laurier, A Le Tertre
  Radiation Protection Dosimetry.2017; 177(1-2): 69.     CrossRef
• Radon-induced lung cancer deaths may be overestimated due to failure to account for confounding by exposure to diesel engine exhaust in BEIR VI miner studies
  Xiaodong Cao, Piers MacNaughton, Jose Cedeno Laurent, Joseph G. Allen, Jaymie Meliker
  PLOS ONE.2017; 12(9): e0184298.     CrossRef
• Cancers des non-fumeurs
  T. Berghmans
  Revue des Maladies Respiratoires Actualités.2016; 8(5): 411.     CrossRef