On Sat, 16 Jul 2005 07:18:14 -0500, Vic Dura
wrote:

On Sat, 16 Jul 2005 03:04:24 GMT, in alt.home.repair DANGER:
RADON "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

They state:
What Are the Effects of Radon?


Miners exposed to high radon levels have been found to run an
increased risk of lung cancer. Radon in the home also presents a risk, but
generally at a lower level.

These studies were done in the 1950s and 1960s. Most (if not all) of
the miners where also heavy smokers. So many were smokers, that they
couldn't get a significant sample if they excluded smokers, so they
had to keep them in the sample. They compared the lung cancer rate of
the miners/smokers to the lung cancer rate of smokers-only. (They did
not consider the amount of smoking. I've never seen stats, but my
observations of miners as a group is that they are far heavier smokers
than the populaton at large.) The difference was very small, and many
researchers judged it to be statistically insignificant and the
studies non-conclusive.

Where have you been? They didn't stop studying radon in the 60s. If
studies are non-conclusive, it means they (or the analyses) are
"non-conclusive," not that it's the end of the story. "Statistically
insignificant" can have as much to do with the design of a study as
with biological reality.

Do a simple literature search and take note of studies as recent as
this year; you're going to be surprized that the conclusions have
changed. The issue is not resolved by any means, particularly with
dosage, length of exposure (eg. lifetime risk of exposed children vs.
risk of adults exposed later in life), and degree of risk. But the
fact that it's a difficult issue to study doesn't mean that there is
no danger.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!