Environmental Pollutants
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Causes of Cancer: Ionizing Radiation
Ionizing radiation is an invisible, high-frequency radiation that can damage the DNA or genes inside the body. Everyone is exposed to very small doses of ionizing radiation from cosmic rays (the rays that enter the earth’s atmosphere from outer space). Radiation from this source may account for a very small percentage (about 1 percent) of our total cancer risk.
Some homes have elevated levels of radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas found at low levels in most soil. Radon is produced by the breakdown of uranium, which naturally releases low levels of ionizing radiation. Higher levels of radon can be found in certain types of rocky soil.
The health effects of radon were first seen in the elevated levels of lung cancer found in underground uranium miners in the United States and around the world. Radon gas seeps into homes from the surrounding soil through cracks and other openings in the foundation.
About 1 out of 20 homes has elevated levels of radon. Even though the cancer risks for radon exposure in the home are much lower than for radon-exposed miners, it is estimated that about 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year are caused by radon exposure in homes. There are various strategies for reducing residential radon exposure.
Another source of ionizing radiation is the radioactive substances released by atomic bombs or nuclear weapons known as "fallout." The doses of ionizing radiation received by the atomic bomb survivors in Japan resulted in increased risks of leukemia and cancers of the breast, thyroid, lung, stomach, and other organs.
Radioactive substances were also released in the aboveground atomic bomb testing conducted by the U.S. Government in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Nevada. People exposed, especially as children, to one radioactive form of iodine, called Iodine-131 or I-131, which collects in the thyroid gland, may have an increased risk of thyroid disease, including thyroid cancer.
People are also exposed to ionizing radiation during certain medical procedures. Some patients who receive radiation to treat cancer or other conditions may be at increased cancer risk. For example, persons treated with radiation in childhood to treat acne, ringworm, and other head and neck conditions have been shown to be at increased risk for thyroid cancer and other tumors of the head and neck.
X-rays used to diagnose or screen for a disease are also forms of ionizing radiation. The dose of radiation from procedures used to diagnose or screen for a disease is much lower than the dose received to treat a disease.
Most studies on the long-term effects of exposure to radiation used to diagnose or screen for cancers or other diseases have not shown an elevated cancer risk, but it is possible that there is a small risk associated with this exposure.
One exception is children whose mothers received diagnostic X-rays during pregnancy. These children were found to have increased risks of childhood leukemia and other types of cancer, which led to the current ban on diagnostic X-rays in pregnant women. Several other studies of women who received small weekly X-ray doses to the chest over extended periods to monitor treatment for tuberculosis showed a radiation-related increased risk of breast cancer.
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see also:
Alcohol
Cancer risk increases with heavy alcohol use. Free health information.Risk of cancer increases among alcohol drinkers, if they also smoke.
Tobacco Cancer
Environmental Cancer Lawsuit: Tobacco CancerTobacco Cancer - FREE Lawsuit Information
Cancer & the Environment
Carcinogenic Pollutants Lawsuit: Cancer Research InformationPollutants and Contaminants that Cause Cancer. Free Lawsuit Review
