Abstract
Many things are unknown about the radioactive hot springs. We have not yet obtained the conclusive evidence of whether the low dose of radiation by radon in the hot springs is healthful or harmful for us. Thus, to grasp the present conditions of the radioactive hot springs scientifically, I reviewed them from the many-sided viewpoints in the following order. At first, some basic information on the radioactive hot springs was summarized to look around them all over. Next, based on the hot spring analysis tables obtained from three representative hot spring resorts in our country, the effective ingredients such as radon, metals, and several kinds of ions presented in the spring waters were evaluated for each hot spring. Then, radon as an element, the radon exposure, and the active oxygen species generated by the radiation of radon were explained to understand the fundamental action of radon. Furthermore, some reports related to the lung cancer risk by inhaling radon were introduced to take the cancer risk in the radioactive hot springs into consideration. Since the oxidative DNA damage induced by hydroxyl radical is considered to be a cause for cancers, it was discussed that the urinary concentrations of 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a marker of the DNA damage, could be used as an index for evaluating the effects of the radioactive hot springs on human health.
