A radioactive gas that is trapped indoors is responsible for 3 to 14% of all lung cancers. Our toenails can reveal our prolonged exposure to this gas.
O radon (Rn)a colorless, odorless gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.
This is a largely overlooked cause – so much so that non-smokers and occasional smokers tend not to sign up for lung cancer screenings. But they should.
Now, a team of scientists from the University of Calgary in Canada has discovered a surprisingly simple way to detect a person’s long-term exposure to radon, which could help doctors identify this “neglected” group.
As writes, toenails are one of the body’s great “archives” of our prolonged exposure to environmental toxins such as radon.
The new study, this Tuesday at Environment Internationalconfirmed that toenail clippings are reliable indicators of long-term radon exposure.
“After we inhale radon, it quickly transforms into a specific type of radioactive lead. Your body treats radioactive lead from radon as it treats all lead, and stores it in slowly renewing tissues, such as skin, hair and nails”, explains the research leader, Aaron Goodarzi.
Contrary to the history of tobacco consumption, the Radon exposure is not something a patient can easily report. People are not aware that they have ever been exposed to this gas, and exposure varies depending on local geology and the way indoor spaces are constructed and used.
Where is the radon?
Radon is naturally produced in the soil and is released into the air. In outdoor spaces, it dilutes easily, but indoors it can accumulate quickly. This happens especially in buildings with poor ventilation and in cold locations, where pressure differences can pull more radon from the soil into interior spaces.
Radon can also dissolve, accumulate and be released by water, especially in uranium-rich rural areas where groundwater is an important source.
Some building materials also contribute to indoor radon accumulation, including lightweight concrete with aluminum shale, phosphogypsum and Italian tuff.
As Science Altert details, using ultrasensitive methods, researchers detected 210Pb, a lead isotope that results from the decomposition of radon, in 39 of the 55 toenail samples they analyzed (71%).
Adults who had been inhaling high levels of radon in their homes for an average of 26.5 years had about 0.298 femtograms of 210Pb per nanogram of stable lead retained in their toenail clippings.
However, the toenails of those who had low exposure to radon over the years contained only 0.075 femtograms of 210Pb per nanogram of lead. This represents a difference of 397%: A pretty strong indicator that your history of radon exposure is, in fact, embedded in your toenails.
