Radon and Helath Radon and Health Radon is a noble, non-reactive, gas. It does not cause immediate respiratory damage like carbon monoxide. Radon is radioactive, so when it gets near living cells, it can cause cell damage.
Cell damage can lead to cancer.
Radon has been linked to lung cancer through human, animal, and cellular studies. You will find an overawe of radon and lung cancer here. Studies of radon and lung cancer in the general population are just now reaching the stage where they have a chance of detecting an effect in high radon regions. Here's a preliminary report of an important study that saw a lung cancer effect from radon in homes. If you do smoke now, stopping smoking will reduce your lung cancer risk more than reducing your radon exposure.