1 in 5 cases of lung cancer in Canada occur in people who have never smoked. Since 2001, public health data indicates that at least 88,000 Canadians have developed lung cancer due to radon exposure.
The facts on radon induced lung cancer:
- Large population studies show clearly that a person’s lifetime relative risk of lung cancer becomes statistically significant at levels at or more than >100 Bq/m3 of long term radon exposure.
- There is an additive ~16% increase in relative lifetime risk of lung cancer for every 100 Bq/m3 of long term radon exposure a person experiences. This finding was based on three independent studies (one in North America, another in Europe, and one from China) involving >10,000 lung cancer patients and >10,000 healthy controls all published in 2004 – 2005.
- Using over 29,000 radon tested properties, our 2021 study showed that radon exposure is occurring at levels known to cause cancer, with the top 10 highest exposures seeing the equivalent of 1500 – 12,000 chest x-rays worth of radiation per year!
- Young North Americans (and children) are more likely to have high radon exposure and are at a greater risk of developing radon induced lung cancers.
How do I protect myself from radon?
The only real way to know about your personal radon exposure, is to test your built environment (especially your home). Even two identical homes, right next to each other, can have dramatically different radon levels due to a variety of factors.
To find out your radon exposure, and to help cancer researchers from across Canada understand these exposures better, please join our study.
