Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Incidence of brain and spinal cord cancer and county-level radon levels in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Iowa, USA

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Environmental Geochemistry and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ionizing radiation at diagnostic and therapeutic doses is a known contributor to the development of brain and spinal cord (CNS) cancer. However, little is known about risk from exposure to radon, a natural radiation source which the general population is exposed to residentially and environmentally. This study investigated correlations between mean county radon levels and CNS cancer incidence in five highly populated and radon-enriched US states (Minnesota, mean radon level 4.6 pCi/L; Wisconsin, 5.7 pCi/L; Pennsylvania, 8.6 pCi/L; Iowa, 6.1 pCi/L; and New Jersey, 4.4 pCi/L). Mean radon levels per county were accessed through AirChek, which provides publicly available radon data measured in residences and workplaces. CNS cancer incidence data were accessed through the states’ health department websites and span differing amounts of time due to the publicly accessible nature of the data, though all time spans were over 10 years. Negative binomial regressions were run to assess correlations between mean radon and CNS cancer incidence per county. Quantile maps were constructed and Moran’s I was calculated to assess spatial autocorrelation in residuals; no spatial autocorrelation was evident. Iowa was the only state with a significant positive association between radon and CNS incidence; no associations were detected in other states, and a negative association was observed in the 5 states combined. This study does not provide evidence that radon is a risk factor for CNS cancer; however, the possibility of an association cannot be ruled out due to limitations of the study, principally its ecologic nature and lack of individual-level exposure data.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander, V. (1991). Brain tumor risk among United States nuclear workers. Occupational Medicine,6(4), 695–714.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes. (2003). In United States Environmental Protection Agency (Ed.), O. o. R. a. I. A. Washington, D.C.

  • ATSDR. (2008). Agency for toxic substances and disease registry toxicological profile for radon. Atlanta, GA: ATSDR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brauner, E. V., Andersen, Z. J., Andersen, C. E., Pedersen, C., Gravesen, P., Ulbak, K., et al. (2013). Residential radon and brain tumour incidence in a Danish cohort. PLoS ONE,8(9), e74435. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0074435.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cardis, E., Vrijheid, M., Blettner, M., Gilbert, E., Hakama, M., Hill, C., et al. (2005). Risk of cancer after low doses of ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study in 15 countries. BMJ,331(7508), 77. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38499.599861.e0.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Checkoway, H., Pearce, N., Crawford-Brown, D. J., & Cragle, D. L. (1988). Radiation doses and cause-specific mortality among workers at a nuclear materials fabrication plant. American Journal of Epidemiology,127(2), 255–266.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Darby, S., Hill, D., Auvinen, A., Barros-Dios, J. M., Baysson, H., Bochicchio, F., et al. (2005). Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case-control studies. BMJ,330(7485), 223. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38308.477650.63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Darby, S. C., Radford, E. P., & Whitley, E. (1995). Radon exposure and cancers other than lung cancer in Swedish iron miners. Environmental Health Perspectives,103(suppl 2), 45–47. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.95103s245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, F., Il’yasova, D., Rankin, K., McCarthy, B., & Bigner, D. D. (2011). Medical diagnostic radiation exposures and risk of gliomas. Radiation Research,175(6), 790–796. https://doi.org/10.1667/rr2186.1.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Navarro, P., García-Pérez, J., Ramis, R., Boldo, E., & López-Abente, G. (2012). Proximity to mining industry and cancer mortality. Science of the Total Environment,435–436, 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.019.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Field, R. W., Steck, D. J., Smith, B. J., Brus, C. P., Fisher, E. L., Neuberger, J. S., et al. (2000). Residential radon gas exposure and lung cancer: The Iowa radon lung cancer study. American Journal of Epidemiology,151(11), 1091–1102.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, C. T., Weiffenbach, C. V., & Norton, S. A. (1983). Environmental radon and cancer correlations in Maine. Health Physics,45(2), 339–348. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-198308000-00006.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hodges, L. C., Smith, J. L., Garrett, A., & Tate, S. (1992). Prevalence of glioblastoma multiforme in subjects with prior therapeutic radiation. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing,24(2), 79–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, W. Y., Muo, C. H., Lin, C. Y., Jen, Y. M., Yang, M. H., Lin, J. C., et al. (2014). Paediatric head CT scan and subsequent risk of malignancy and benign brain tumour: A nation-wide population-based cohort study. British Journal of Cancer,110, 2354. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2014.103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • John, D. B., Jr., Sarah, S. C., Michael, T. M., Elizabeth Dupree, E., Keith, F. E., Leggett, R. W., et al. (2006). Mortality among radiation workers at Rocketdyne (Atomics International), 1948–1999. Radiation Research,166(1), 98–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krewski, D., Lubin, J. H., Zielinski, J. M., Alavanja, M., Catalan, V. S., Field, R. W., et al. (2006). A combined analysis of North American case-control studies of residential radon and lung cancer. J Toxicol Environ Health A,69(7), 533–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/15287390500260945.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (US) Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR V). (1990). Health effects of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation: Beir V. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noone, A. M., Howlader, N., Krapcho, M., Miller, D., Brest, A., Yu, M., et al. (2017). SEER cancer statistics review, 1975–2015. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, Q. T., Gittleman, H., Xu, J., Kromer, C., Wolinsky, Y., Kruchko, C., et al. (2016). CBTRUS statistical report: Primary brain and other central nervous system tumors diagnosed in the United States in 2009–2013. Neuro-Oncology,18(suppl_5), v1–v75. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/now207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preston, D. L., Ron, E., Yonehara, S., Kobuke, T., Fujii, H., Kishikawa, M., et al. (2002). Tumors of the nervous system and pituitary gland associated with atomic bomb radiation exposure. Journal of the National Cancer Institute,94(20), 1555–1563.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, P., & Austin, D. F. (1985). Cancer incidence among employees of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 1969–1980. Western Journal of Medicine,142(2), 214–218.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ron, E., Modan, B., Boice, J. D., Alfandary, E., Stovall, M., Chetrit, A., et al. (1988). Tumors of the brain and nervous system after radiotherapy in childhood. New England Journal of Medicine,319(16), 1033–1039. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM198810203191601.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruano-Ravina, A., Aragones, N., Kelsey, K. T., Perez-Rios, M., Pineiro-Lamas, M., Lopez-Abente, G., et al. (2017a). Residential radon exposure and brain cancer: An ecological study in a radon prone area (Galicia, Spain). Scientific Reports,7(1), 3595. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03938-9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruano-Ravina, A., Dacosta-Urbieta, A., Barros-Dios, J. M., & Kelsey, K. T. (2017b). Radon exposure and tumors of the central nervous system. Gaceta Sanitaria. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2017.01.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, M., Artico, M., Caruso, R., Rocchi, G., Orlando, E. R., & Nucci, F. (1991). A report on radiation-induced gliomas. Cancer,67(2), 392–397.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S., & Mealey, J., Jr. (1989). Late anaplastic gliomas in children previously treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatric Neurosciences,15(4), 176–180.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soussain, C., Ricard, D., Fike, J. R., Mazeron, J.-J., Psimaras, D., & Delattre, J.-Y. (2009). CNS complications of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The Lancet,374(9701), 1639–1651. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61299-X.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. C., Krewski, D., Chen, Y., Pope, C. A., Gapstur, S. M., & Thun, M. J. (2012). Radon and nonrespiratory mortality in the American Cancer Society cohort. American Journal of Epidemiology, 176(9), 808–814. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kws198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogiannis, E. G., & Nikolopoulos, D. (2014). Radon sources and associated risk in terms of exposure and dose. Frontiers in Public Health,2, 207. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2009). WHO handbook on indoor radon: A public health perspective. Geneva: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiggs, L. D., Johnson, E. R., Cox-DeVore, C. A., & Voelz, G. L. (1994). Mortality through 1990 among white male workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory: Considering exposures to plutonium and external ionizing radiation. Health Physics,67(6), 577–588. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199412000-00001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, HSC L3, Rm 071, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA

    Rebecca N. Monastero & Jaymie R. Meliker

  2. Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine, Program in Public Health, Stony Brook University, HSC L3, Rm 071, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA

    Jaymie R. Meliker

Authors
  1. Rebecca N. Monastero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jaymie R. Meliker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rebecca N. Monastero.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Monastero, R.N., Meliker, J.R. Incidence of brain and spinal cord cancer and county-level radon levels in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Iowa, USA. Environ Geochem Health 42, 389–395 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00368-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00368-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation