2024-02-15 23:59:48
You can’t see it, smell it or taste it: radon comes from the ground and can cause lung cancer. However, it could pose another health risk.
Radon is a noble gas that occurs all over the world. It is created by the decay of uranium underground. If it gets into the fresh air, it does no harm.
But if the mobile and radioactive gas enters the interior of houses and apartments through the foundation, cracks in the walls or leaky joints, it can become dangerous.
In Germany, the limit for indoor radon concentration is 300 becquerels per cubic meter. The equivalent is around eight picocuries of radon per liter of room air (pCi/L) and therefore, according to the science magazine scinexx.de, twice as much as the amount permitted in the USA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advocates a maximum of four pCi/L.
Not just a cause of cancer
Radon is proven to be the second most common cause of lung cancer – only smoking causes more cases. A team of researchers from Brown University in Rhode Island has now discovered that the gas is also linked to strokes.
In a long-term study that lasted 13 years, the health data of almost 160,000 women, all of whom lived in the USA, were evaluated. At the start of the study, the women were between 50 and 79 years old. None of the women had previously suffered a stroke at this point.
By the end of the study period, the researchers recorded 6,979 strokes among the study participants. The women’s neighborhoods were then examined for radon concentrations.
Small amounts of radon increase the risk of stroke
These studies found that women exposed to radon between two and four pCi/L had a six percent higher risk of stroke than women exposed to lower levels. At four pCi/L or more, the risk of a stroke increased by 14 percent.
Based on the results, Eric Whitsel, co-author of the study, suggests that the radon concentration limit may need to be lowered. In addition, more devices should be installed in houses that reduce the amount of radon in the air.
However, the study is not yet representative of the general public. Since the test subjects were only middle-aged to older women, further investigations are necessary to fully confirm the connection between radon and strokes. Whitsel would see this as an opportunity to study a newly discovered risk factor for stroke and thereby improve public health.