Doses to organs and tissues from radon and its decay products

Abstract

This paper discusses the doses from radon and from its short-lived decay products to a number of organs and tissues and to the foetus. The aim is to put all these doses into context rather than concentrating only on the largest contributions. There is also a brief discussion of the evidence from epidemiology on the risks of exposure to radon and its decay products. As is well known, under normal circumstances the greatest hazard is to the respiratory tract from inhalation of radon decay products. Radon decay products may also give substantial doses to skin. Under some circumstances it seems likely that ingested radon could give significant doses to the stomach. Other risks appear to be smaller; the results given here allow them to be compared.