Radon in my house

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LaurentCH

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Learn about ALS
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CH
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Zurich
My symptoms get worse, the twitching in my hands and feet go wild. also i have more cramps now. I have just found out, that i live in a house of a high radon toxitiy of 1800 bq/m3 in the cave and up to 300 in the living room.
ALS and Radon have already been linked but not further investigated:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/radiation-may-trigger-fatal-wasting-disease-1346032.html

anyone in this forum knows about his/her houses radon status? i wonder if this has caused my problem or the vulnerability to other neurotoxins.
 
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The first link is 20 years old and the second is 13 years old. I think if there was evidence to support this there would be more recent documents verifying it.
 
They are both dated 1996. There are als-clusters in ireland and spain where granit is the dominant stone. My neighbour has als. The governmental german federation of radiation protection on their website writes about a possible correlation between radon and ms/alzheimer/als which after them would urgently have to be investigated. So far they have focussed just to the wellproved link with lungcancer...
 
In Switzerland where I life there seem to be ALS-clusters in regions with high radon outcome...! Alpha radiation from depleted uranium had also been suspicious to cause the gulf war syndrome in veterans...
 
Laurent, radon aside, you have a cave in your house? How cool is that?
 
If a cave is what I think it is and where i go to get the wine then yes;-)
 
and they say it is all about eating bats....


Bequerels on the Brain - Mark Purdey

Page 3 Excerpt

The Biochemistry of Neuro-degeneration.

My environmental analysis confirmed the findings of other teams that the traditional food chain of the Chamorro folk is markedly deficient in magnesium (9). This problem was further exacerbated by the customary practise of adding large amounts of salt to their meals - since sodium disrupts the uptake of magnesium across the gut wall(10). Once magnesium is deficient in the bio system, then these rogue radioactive metals such as strontium 90 or barium are able to substitute at the vacant magnesium sites on enzymes.(since these metals possess a similar atomic arrangement to magnesium/calcium (8)) thereby disrupting the healthy function of these enzymes. The free radicals generated by the rogue replacement radio-nuclides could cause mutations. In this respect, it is interesting that these neuro-degerative diseases stem from specific mutations in the enzymes that mediate the metabolism of cholesterol/lipids (12) the guanosine triphosphate cell signalling (13) – enzyme systems that are magnesium regulated in the healthy mammal (8).

Another magnesium activated enzyme is glutamine synthetase(8), and once its activity is knocked out of action during magnesium deficiency, then the highly neuro-toxic glutamate molecule builds up in the brain, thereby triggering the whole downward spiral of these types of neuro-degenerative diseases (14).

Irrespective of the levels of magnesium in the tissues, exposure to strontium or barium atoms will also lead to a loss of free sulphate in the bio-system (15)(16). For the reactive forms of these metals are well recognised to couple up with sulphur, thereby starving the nervous system of one of its most crucial structural caretakers - the sulphated glyco-aminoglycan (GAG) heparin molecules (8). Once deprived of their sulphur co partners, GAGs will cease to perform their function in the growth and maintenance of the complex infrastructure of neuronal networking(17). Neuro-degenerative wasting ensues.

Interestingly, loss of GAG activity has been shown to be responsible for the cornerstone mechanisms underpinning the cause of neuro-degenerative wasting conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease, BSE, etc. Whilst individual genetics determines which particular type of neuro-degenerative disease will emerge at the end of the day, it is the environmental exposure to these sulphur-capturing pollutants, such as barium, strontium, etc, that represents the common causal component shared by all of these diseases.

Barium and strontium are employed widely in industries manufacturing paper, munitions, zinc refining, welding, rubber, glass, paint pigments, ceramics, fabrics, TV components and as additives into aeroplane fuels for creating aerosols that enhance the efficiency of radio signal communications(15)(16),

'Guamogeddon'

With two major US airbases and a nuclear submarine naval base in operation since World war two, the former paradise isle of Guam has become one of the most explosively contaminated nuclear hellholes on this earth – well evidenced by that fact that Guam was christened the ‘coconut curtain’ during the pre-1962 period when the isle was out of bounds to any foreign visitors who were not approved by the US military.

The Chamorro elders remember the multitude of bombs that were dropped in the bays during the US invasion of Japanese occupied Guam towards the end of world war two. Whilst the US liberation of Guam was unanimously welcomed, one of the downsides of the conquest involved the toxic liberation of barium based explosives into the marine ecosystem following the detonation of so many bombs. Wherever the warplanes from the US Hornet aircraft carrier were involved in heavy bombardments during June /July 1944 – eg; along the coasts of Guam, Rota island, Irian Jaya (New Quinea) and Southern Japan – the clusters of neuro-degenerative disease have subsequently emerged (1-3). And ever since the war, the US navy have been carting waste munitions – eg; gone beyond their expiry date - up to the central mountainous backbone of the island and then disposing them within an extensive spread of sealed off wilderness under military occupation.

Ironically, the former Senator of Guam, Angel L.G Santos, had only just launched the publication of a major action report on the radioactive contamination of Guam (18)- on behalf of the ‘Blue Ribbon Panel Committee’- when he plunged into a rapid attack dementia/neuro-degenerative wasting condition which tragically killed the poor man within two months. Hearsay has it that the Senator had been earthing up discarded US ordnance on his own small farm; suggesting that his home grown fruit and vegetables had become contaminated, which, in turn, had contaminated him, leading to his rapid demise health-wise.

Considering the clear cut correlation that exists between the distribution/timing of the cluster of neuro-degenerative disease on Guam and the distribution/timing of nuclear contamination ( See map), one wonders why all of the ‘expert’ teams of US scientists visiting Guam have failed to recognize such a blatantly obvious causal association?

Apart from the raft of research teams who have ended up promoting the widely held theory of cycad consumption as the cause of the epidemic (1)(2), a fresh research team was dispatched more recently to the ‘atomic frontline’ from the US Dept of the Interior. This research was lead by William Miller and Richard Sanzolone who conducted a professional geo-chemical survey of the environment around the epicentre of the cluster (19). But all of the positive ground gained in their excellent geo-chemical study was blown apart by the bizarre conclusion arrived at in this paper. The authors had plumped for the assumption that Guam syndrome had been caused by yet another ‘natural toxin’ – the toxic blooms of blue green algae; a phenomena which they had only casually noticed along the estuaries of the three rivers where the three affected villages are sited.

Not long after this study was finished, the natural water supplies to the villages were abruptly terminated and replaced by the mains supply that fed the rest of the island – no reasons given. When the Mayor of Umatac pressed for an explanation, the US governing authorities supplied him with papers that included a copy of the unpublished paper by Miller et al (19) which made anecdotal reference to these blue-green algae toxins as the source of the problem. But how could such a circumstantially derived explanation provide a sufficiently watertight basis for cutting off the water? Furthermore, no actual analysis had been carried out to determine the presence of this toxin in the drinking water, plus all three villages had been drawing their drinking waters from the mountain springs and not from the estuary stages of the rivers where the toxic blooms were purportedly spotted. One is tempted to believe that this was a cover story for a much more serious contamination of the springs that could have resulted from the long term disposal of munitions in the mountains above the villages (See map).
 
There is absolutely NO CORRELATION between ALS and radon gas. A couple of old studies that have not been verified means nothing. Furthermore, the studies didn't say radon gas causes ALS. Did you even read the studies or did you simply read a little excerpt on the internet? My guess is the latter. I'm not saying that there could be a link or not but it has absolutely NOT been proven, so please don't say things that have no merit. This is exactly how all of the crap on the internet gets spread.

You also quote Mark Purdey's words. Mark Purdey is a FARMER and NOT a scientist. His claim to fame is his theory about Mad Cow Disease that has more or less been dismissed by most of the SCIENTIFIC community.
 
wright, i just said that ALS and Radon have already been linked but not further investigated!
i didn't say at all that it causes mnd, but the studies said, that it might make people more vulnerable....
wright, do you know if ionized radiation has ever been examinated regarding the onset of ALS?
 
I'm not really aware of any epidemiological studies attempting to link ionizing radiation to ALS but it is known to damage the central nervous system (along with every other system in the body). It definitely has a link to cancers, though. Hiroshima and Chernobyl were two of the best case studies showing that link; X-rays are known to cause cancer with over-exposure, etc., etc.
 
then i wonder why they did not examin these incidents regarding als.
i know i am just SPECULATING, but radon might be the indirect cause for some cases of als, the veterans might have become vulnerable due to depleted uranium and the poor people on kii and guam island are victims of the nuclear testings in the south pacific. the welders get strontium, the pilots natural atmosphere radiation and so on. only speculation, but what, if there is more about radiation and als?
 
i was just comparing reported als clusters in the south east of finland (Spatial Clustering of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Finland: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12746242) to the finish radon map. the clusters are absolutely identical! why did research not think examine the link? it seems that in switzerland, the two are also related if i compare als clusters and radon areas!
 
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Maybe they did, found no connection so just quit. Every time you start a new post it's about being contaminated by something. What earthly difference does it make to you? The researchers will look at what they think causes it. This quest of yours will only serve to drive you and us around the bend.

AL.
 
LaurentCH

The job of a scientist (not that I'm mistaking you for a scientist) is to have a hypothesis and then to try to DISPROVE it. That takes away the bias when looking at data. You are doing the complete opposite, which doesn't make for very good science and you are definitely showing bias toward your "theory." Stop trying to put round pegs into square spaces. You haven't been diagnosed with ALS and your symptoms are classic for BFCS. If you're that concerned, go to a neuro for some peace of mind. In the meantime . . . RELAX!
 
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