Uranium miners in poorly ventilated mines are prone to lung cancer - even if they are non-smokers. The cuplrit is inhaled radon, a decay product of uranium. (Or more strictly radon daughters).
More recent analyses suggest that radon may be responsible for about 3 - 5% of lung cancer in the UK. Not much compared to the 85% due to smoking but still the #2 cause. So people worry. In principle you can reduce radon in the home, for example by installing extractor fans under the floorboards. But is it worth the effort? Yes, according to a recent economic analysis. At least as judged by the NHS benchmark of £20k - £30k per QALY saved. You need to go into the various appendices of the online only version to read the detail of how they did the calculations.
But is it right to use the NHS benchmark in this very different area of government activity? On the one hand consistency is good. On the other hand, strict consistency rarely matches common sense.
The other interesting feature of the analysis is that, as with blood pressure and cholesterol, the problem lies in the very large number of homes with a small radon excess, not the very few homes with a high level. And by 'high' we mean here the level at which government policy is currently set.
