LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE FREQUENCY OF MUTANTS OR TRANSLOCATIONS IN CIRCULATING LYMPHOCYTES AND EXPOSURE TO RADON GASIN THE HOME

Radon measurements in the living room and main bedroom of 41 houses in the town of Street, Somerset, England have been made. Exposure levels , weighted using the formula of the UK National Radiological Protectio n Board, of 19-484 Bq m(-3) (about half >100 Bq m(-3)) were found. Blo od samples were obtained from a total of 66 occupants in these homes, and the frequency of genetic alterations in lymphocytes was estimated using two different end points. Gene mutations at the hypoxanthine gua nine phosphoribosyl transferase locus were determined in T lymphocytes for 65 subjects using a clonal assay, and the frequency of the BCL-2 t(14;18) translocation, a chromosomal event associated with leukemia/l ymphoma, was estimated in lymphocytes using a polymerase chain reactio n-based technique for 64 subjects. In neither case was a significant c orrelation with radon levels in the home found, in contrast to our ear lier observation with a smaller series. (C) 1996 by Radiation Research Society