According to a new study, thawing of permafrost due to climate change could expose the Arctic population to much greater concentrations of the invisible, lung cancer-causing gas Radon.

Professor Paul Glover from the University of Leeds and his co-author suggest that permafrost has historically acted as a protective barrier, blocking radon from travelling to the surface and entering buildings there.

Radon is an invisible, odourless, naturally occurring radioactive gas. It causes approximately one in 10 lung cancer deaths and affects smokers much more than non-smokers. It causes higher death rates in sub-Arctic communities due to the prevalence of smoking.

Their study, published today in the AGU journal Earth’s Future, modelled radon production, its flow through soil, permafrost and model buildings — including those with sub-surface and surface basements and those built, more traditionally, on piles.

They show that in buildings with basements, the presence of radon gas can increase to more than 100 times its initial value for up to seven years, depending on the depth of the permafrost and how fast the permafrost thaws.

This demonstrates the importance of not only keeping the permafrost layer intact by limiting global warming, but also has significant implications for health provision, building codes and ventilation advice.

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