Black Carbon and Radon
![]() |
Drawdown |
In a previous post, I reviewed the book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. Sometimes I visit the book’s associated website, drawdown.org, because it has so much to teach me about climate change. Recently, I read one of their publications about Reducing Black Carbon. The executive summary begins:
Black carbon—also referred to as soot—is a particulate matter that results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. As a major air and climate pollutant, black carbon (BC) emissions have widespread adverse effects on human health and climate change. Globally, exposure to unhealthy levels of particulate matter, including BC, is estimated to cause between three and six million excess deaths every year. These health impacts—and the related economic losses—are felt disproportionately by those living in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore, BC is a potent greenhouse gas with a short-term global warming potential well beyond carbon dioxide and methane. Worse still, it is often deposited on sea ice and glaciers, reducing reflectivity and accelerating melting, particularly in the Arctic and Himalayas.Therefore, reducing BC emissions results in a triple win, mitigating climate change, improving the lives of more than two billion people currently exposed to unclean air, and saving trillions of dollars in economic losses.
As I learned more, I found that black carbon is only one type of fine particles in the air. I begin to wonder “where have I heard about the risk of particulate matter before?” Then it hit me: Section 17.12 of Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology, which is about radon. Russ Hobbie and I wrote
Uranium, and therefore radium and radon, are present in most rocks and soil. Radon, a noble gas, percolates through grainy rocks and soil and enters the air and water in different concentrations. Although radon is a noble gas, its decay products have different chemical properties and attach to dust or aerosol droplets which can collect in the lungs. High levels of radon products in the lungs have been shown by both epidemiological studies of uranium miners and by animal studies to cause lung cancer.
Aha! Perhaps black carbon is an effective carrier of radon decay products into the lungs. This is just a hypothesis, but I did find a reference that supported the idea (Wang et al., “Particle Radioactivity from Radon Decay Products and Reduced Pulmonary Function Among Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients,” Environmental Research, Volume 216, Article Number 114492, 2023). Below I present part of their introduction (references removed)
Consistent with the existing literature on ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure, our previous studies found that indoor PM was associated with increased systemic inflammation and oxidative stress and reduced pulmonary function among [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] patients in Eastern Massachusetts. It has recently been recognized that an attribute of PM with potential to promote pulmonary damage after inhalation is radionuclides attached to PM, referred to as particle radioactivity (PR). Though ionizing radiation has many sources (e.g., cosmic radiation and medical procedures), the majority of natural background radiation (and, thus, of PR) is from radon (222Rn), which decays into α-, β-, and γ-emitting decay products. Although radon gas itself is rapidly exhaled, freshly generated radon decay products (also referred to a radon progeny) can rapidly attach to particles in the ambient and indoor air and be inhaled into the airways. After deposition, particles continue to emit radiation in the lungs with a residence time that can range from several days to months. Compared to β- and γ-emissions from radionuclides, α-emitting particles are considered the most toxic due to their high energy and large mass. Since α-radiation cannot penetrate the intact epidermis, inhalation is the predominant route of exposure, and evidence that α-radiation may cause pulmonary damage is suggested by its effects on inducing inflammation and reactive oxygen species in human lung fibroblasts as well as up-regulating gene pathways in human pulmonary epithelial cells associated with inflammatory and respiratory diseases.
I didn’t find any mention of radon in Drawdown’s publication Reducing Black Carbon or in the World Health Organization’s publication Health Effects of Black Carbon. I don’t know if radon is an important part of the mechanism by which black carbon causes health hazards. Yet, I wonder. I know that radon is a more serious hazard among smokers compared to nonsmokers, and smoking should have similarities to breathing soot. This black carbon/radon hypothesis raises some interesting questions. Is black carbon more effective than other types of particulate matter in transporting radon decay products? Does global warming increase lung cancer? Is black carbon more dangerous in areas with high radon concentrations? Is black carbon more hazardous for people living in poorly ventilated buildings rather than in well-ventilated buildings or outdoors?
Soot is clearly bad news. As drawdown.com says, it’s a triple threat: climate, health, and well-being. They offer several ideas for reducing black carbon:
- Urgently implement clean cooking solutions
- Target transportation to reduce current—and prevent future—emissions
- Reduce BC from the shipping industry
- Regulate air quality
- Include BC in nationally determined contributions and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Improve BC measurements and estimates
The item about regulating air quality makes me speculate if a positive feedback loop could underlie the impact of black carbon on the climate: Soot in the air increases global warming; increased global warming increases the number of forest fires, and an increased number of forest fires increases the amount of soot in the air. Again, this is just a hypothesis, and I don’t know it’s true. But I do know that in my 25 years living in Michigan, the only serious problem with air pollution and soot I’ve experienced was caused by last summer’s Canadian forest fires, and such fires appear, at least to me, to be related to global warming.
Black carbon may be one of the places where climate change and IPMB intersect. It’s an important topic and deserves closer study.
Source: http://hobbieroth.blogspot.com/2024/09/black-carbon-and-radon.html
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Humic & Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex
HerbAnomic’s Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex is a revolutionary new Humic and Fulvic Acid Complex designed to support your body at the cellular level. Our product has been thoroughly tested by an ISO/IEC Certified Lab for toxins and Heavy metals as well as for trace mineral content. We KNOW we have NO lead, arsenic, mercury, aluminum etc. in our Formula.
This Humic & Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral complex has high trace levels of naturally occurring Humic and Fulvic Acids as well as high trace levels of Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Potassium and more. There is a wide range of up to 70 trace minerals which occur naturally in our Complex at varying levels. We Choose to list the 8 substances which occur in higher trace levels on our supplement panel. We don’t claim a high number of minerals as other Humic and Fulvic Supplements do and leave you to guess which elements you’ll be getting.
Order Your Humic Fulvic for Your Family by Clicking on this Link, or the Banner Below.
Our Formula is an exceptional value compared to other Humic Fulvic Minerals because...
It’s OXYGENATED
It Always Tests at 9.5+ pH
Preservative and Chemical Free
Allergen Free
Comes From a Pure, Unpolluted, Organic Source
Is an Excellent Source for Trace Minerals
Is From Whole, Prehisoric Plant Based Origin Material With Ionic Minerals and Constituents
Highly Conductive/Full of Extra Electrons
Is a Full Spectrum Complex
Our Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex has Minerals, Amino Acids, Poly Electrolytes, Phytochemicals, Polyphenols, Bioflavonoids and Trace Vitamins included with the Humic and Fulvic Acid. Our Source material is high in these constituents, where other manufacturers use inferior materials.
Try Our Humic and Fulvic Liquid Trace Mineral Complex today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.
![Report abuse](/img/report_abuse.png)