Yale epidemiologist leads study of risks from radon in drinking water

Radon in Connecticut’s drinking water poses a minimal health risk, primarily when it is released into household air, according to a recent study by experts convened by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. The state Department of Public Utility Control requested the study after receiving reports of radon in drinking water and requests for treatment of public drinking water supplies to reduce radon content.

The panel, chaired by Jan A. Stolwijk, Ph.D., Susan Dwight Bliss Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, found that the major adverse health effect of radon is a possible increase in lung cancer risk resulting from inhalation. According to the report, some adverse health effects, primarily in the stomach, may result also from the ingestion of drinking water containing radon, although the effect is “expected to be less than for inhalation.”