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Why is radon more closely associated with inducing lung cancer than other types of cancer?

Short Answer

Expert verified

We are more prone to inhale radon than any other radioactive element since it is a radioactive gas. When we breathe radon, the gas is carried to our lungs and it causes more lung cancer than any other substance.

Step by step solution

01

Definition of Radon gas

Radon is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally and can cause lung cancer.

Radon gas is odourless, colourless, and inactive. The majority of radon exposure takes place in households, schools, and workplaces.

02

Explanation of close association of radon with inducing lung cancer

We can see from the Appendix and Table\(Al\)that it has a half-life of\(3.82\)days. Because radon is a noble gas, it does not react and is tasteless and odourless, which is one of the reasons why a person cannot detect its existence on their own, posing a significant risk. Because radon is extremely radioactive, inhaling daughter cores that are decomposing radon might cause lung injury. As a result of the high number of lung cancer cases linked to radon exposure, cigarette smokers are a particularly vulnerable population.

Because the circumstances for diffusion from the soil to the basements are particularly easy, it is usually found in the soil and underground buildings with inadequate ventilation. Because of its widespread distribution, radon is considered one of the natural radiations, with a global estimate of roughly \(3{\rm{ }}mSv\) per year (as shown in the book), and a US average dose of \(2{\rm{ }}mSv\) per year.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Verify that the total number of nucleons, total charge, and electron family number are conserved for each of the fusion reactions in the carbon cycle given in the above problem. (List the value of each of the conserved quantities before and after each of the reactions.)

The energy produced by the fusion of a \(1.00 - kg\) mixture of deuterium and tritium was found in Example Calculating Energy and Power from Fusion. Approximately how many kilograms would be required to supply the annual energy use in the United States?

(a) If the average molecular mass of compounds in food is\(50.0\;{\rm{g}}\), how many molecules are there in\(1.00\;{\rm{kg}}\)of food?

(b) How many ion pairs are created in\(1.00\;{\rm{kg}}\)of food, if it is exposed to\(1000\;{\rm{Sv}}\)and it takes\(32.0\,{\rm{eV}}\) to create an ion pair?

(c) Find the ratio of ion pairs to molecules.

(d) If these ion pairs recombine into a distribution of 2000 new compounds, how many parts per billion is each?

Compare a low dose of radiation to a human with a low dose of radiation used in food treatment.

(a) Calculate the energy released in the neutron-induced fission (similar to the spontaneous fission in Example\(32.3\)) \(n{ + ^{238}}U{ \to ^{96}}Sr{ + ^{140}}Xe + 3n\), given \(m{(^{96}}Sr) = 95.921750{\rm{ }}u\) and \(m{(^{140}}Xe) = 139.92164{\rm{ }}u\).

(b) This result is about \(6{\rm{ }}MeV\) greater than the result for spontaneous fission. Why?

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