Thawing permafrost might be exposing people in northern Canada to higher levels of a naturally-occurring gas that causes lung cancer, says a new study out of the U.K.
Paul Glover, the study’s lead researcher, said permafrost has been acting as a “hidden guardian” by keeping radon locked in the ground in the circumpolar Arctic and preventing it from travelling to the Earth’s surface and accumulating in buildings.
Radon is an odourless, tasteless radioactive gas that is created from the decay of uranium in minerals found in rock, soil and water, according to Lung Cancer Canada. It is the leading cause of cancer
