Revision 1
March 19, 1998
by Radiation, Science, and Health, Inc.,
Edited by J. Muckerheide

1.2.6
Natural Radiation and Radioactivity 

1.2.6.3
Radon

"The observed lung cancer rates of females in high residential radon areas in former uranium mining areas of Southern Saxony are substantially lower than the population average of East Germany. Thus the data from various countries, showing biopositive effects of increased radon levels can be confirmed in an area which has been closely associated with the history of radiation health effects.

"...After WWII, when the former Soviet Union started to extract eventually over 200,000 tons of uranium from one of the world’s most important uranium mining regions to create its nuclear potential, all matters related to radiation effects were considered highly secret. Nevertheless, first studies in East Germany (the former GDR) seemed to suggest that, based on ICRP and other Western estimates, up to 50% of all female lung cancers of the country might be radon-related (Schuttmann 1983). This estimate implied that the rate in the high-radon areas should be substantially higher than the average.

"However, a detailed analysis of the very comprehensive GDR cancer register clearly showed no indication of increased female lung cancer in this region (Mehnert et al. 1992). In fact, in one of the high radon mining districts (Gera) the values were among the lowest of the whole country. Nevertheless, extremely sophisticated remediation efforts have been initiated there after the German unification in 1990, with a radon-related cost component of about 2,000 mill $ U.S. (Becker 1996). Part of these efforts have been comprehensive measurements. It was found, for example that in the old mining town of Schneeberg, with an average radon concentration in homes of 290 Bqm³, 13% exceeded 1000, 11% 15,000 and over 1% more than 15,000 - in essentially the same houses in which no lung cancers had been detected in careful studies published 70 years ago (Saupe 1928) Incidentally, in the non-mining area of Bad Brambach, half of all residences were in the 500-5000 Bqm³ category, and the highest value measured in Germany so far is in the ‘clean water half’ of the water supply facilities in Hof/Bavaria on the western end of the same mountain range, at 750,000 Bqm³ (Becker et al. 1992).

"This area appears, therefore to be another ideal location for testing the currently dominating ‘official’ assumptions about radiation health hazards in general and indoor radon hazards in particular. A recent study surprisingly claimed, however, that the residential radon risk of non-smokers substantially exceeds that of smokers, amounting to 14% at 50 Bqm³ among non-smoking women (Steindrof et al 1995). Thus, with at least 90% for the women in this area being non-smokers and the average radon levels in the houses exceeding the East German average by factors between 3 and 10, a substantial increase in lung cancers should be observed (Lehmann et al 1994).