Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May 1;122(5):575-578.
doi: 10.1097/HP.0000000000001533.

Radon-222 Brain Dosimetry

Naomi H Harley  1 , Edith S Robbins  2
Affiliations

Radon-222 Brain Dosimetry

Naomi H Harley et al. Health Phys. .

Abstract

The human brain dose from radon-222 (222Rn) exposure is calculated here using 222Rn tissue solubility data. A fraction of 222Rn inhaled dissolves in blood and cellular fluids and circulates to brain and all organs. Radon-222 has a relatively high solubility in blood and body fluids based on human inhalation experiments. The brain dose uses calculated concentrations of 222Rn in blood and cellular fluids from exhaled breath measurements following human exposure in a 222Rn chamber. The annual brain dose from continuous inhalation of a concentration of 100 Bq m-3 is about 450 times less than the dose to bronchial epithelium from inhalation of the same 222Rn concentration. Based on the 222Rn dosimetry here, it is highly unlikely that brain cancer is related to even high 222Rn exposures. Any functional or neurodegenerative issues from exposure to very small doses of 222Rn alpha particles are, at present, unknown.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Allen NJ, Lyons DA. Glia as architects of central nervous system formation and function. Sci 362:181–185; 2018.
    1. Acioglu C, Li L, Elkabes S. Contribution of astrocytes to neuropathology of neurodegenerative diseases. Brain Res 1758:147291; 2021.
    1. Brenner AV, Sugiyama H, Preston DL, Sakata R, French B, Sadakane A, Cahoon EK, Utada M, Mabuchi K, Ozasa K. Radiation risk of central nervous system tumors in the Life Span Study of atomic bomb survivors, 1958–2009. Eur J Epid 35:591–600; 2020.
    1. Cope EC, Gould E. Adult neurogenesis, glia, and the extracellular matrix. Cell Stem Cell 24:690–705; 2019. DOI:10-1016/j.stem.2019.03.023. - DOI
    1. Darby SC, Whitley E, Howe GR, Hutchings SJ, Kusiak RA, Lubin JH, Morrison HI, Tirmarche M, Tomasek L, Radford EP, Roscoe RJ, Samet JM, Yao SX. Radon and cancers other than lung cancer in underground miners: a collaborative analysis of 11 studies. J Natl Cancer Inst 87:378–384; 1995.

LinkOut - more resources