Guest guest Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 For your general information... Cutz Cutz (B.Sc., DIH, CIH) | Managing Principal - Occupational Hygiene | Health+Safety Matters & Associates 1 Pringle Avenue, Markham, Ontario, CANADA L3P 2P3Voice: | Fax: | eMail: 627788@... | SKYPE™: coxcutz | Twitter: http://twitter.com/acutzLinkedIn Professional Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/1234andrewcutzandassociates P Save a tree... please do not print this e-mail unless you really need to This email and any attachments are confidential and are for the use of the intended recipient only. Any dissemination of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please call immediately and destroy this communication.FOR YOUR INFORMATION...To: globalocchyg-list CC: occhygpro@...; ukoh@...; jalbert.philip@...From: andrewcutz@...Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:25:53 -0400Subject: [globalocchyg-list] [ciaq] WHO Issues Handbook on Radon - Recommends a Reference Level of 100 Bq/m3þ [ciaq] WHO Issues Handbook on Radon - Recommends a Reference Level of 100 Bq/m3þ From: CIAQ EMail (ciaqepamail (DOT) epa.gov) Sent: September 24, 2009 12:19:54 PM Dear CIAQ Subscribers-For Your Information; Bracketed [items] are mine.-----Read the WHO Radon Handbook at: http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/env/radon/en/index1.html Also visit the EPA Radon website: http://www.epa.gov/radon On Monday, September 21st the United Nation's World Health Organization (WHO)said that radon is a worldwide health risk in homes. Dr. Neira of WHO said that "Most radon-induced lung cancers occur from low and medium dose exposures in people's homes. Radon is the second most important cause of lung cancer after smoking in many countries." The WHO recommendations arecontained in the "Handbook on Indoor Radon: A Public Health Perspective". Here are two excerpts from the Handbook that are worth noting. "A national reference level for radon represents the maximum accepted radon concentration in a residential dwelling and is an important component of a national programme. For homes with radon concentrations above these levels remedial actions may be recommended or required. Whensetting a reference level, various national factors such as the distributionof radon, the number of existing homes with high radon concentrations, thearithmetic mean indoor radon level and the prevalence of smoking should betaken into consideration. In view of the latest scientific data, WHO proposesa reference level of 100 Bq/m3 [2.7 pCi/L] to minimize health hazards dueto indoor radon exposure. However, if this level cannot be reached under the prevailing country-specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq/m3 [8.1 pCi/L] which represents approximately10 mSv per year according to recent calculations by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (Executive Summary, page xi). The proportion of all lung cancers linked to radon is estimated to lie between 3% and 14%, depending on the average radon concentration in the country and on the method of calculation. Radon is the second most importantcause of lung cancer after smoking in many countries. Radon is much more likely to cause lung cancer in people who smoke, or who have smoked in the past, than in lifelong non-smokers. However, it is the primary cause of lungcancer among people who have never smoked (Chapter 1, page 3). Read/download the WHO Radon Handbook at:http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/env/radon/en/index1.html Also visit the EPA Radon website: http://www.epa.gov/radon ----V/R,Philip JalbertCIAQ Executive SecretaryCIAQ@...www.epa.gov/iaq/ciaq ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------END Forwarded by Cutz, CIH | Moderator, GlobalOccHyg List | http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalocchyg-list/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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