Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and radioactive noble gas, known as the second leading cause of lung cancer and the leading cause among non-smokers, according to Health Canada. Despite this, limited research exists on its effects, particularly on the general population. Health Canada initial data stems from studies on uranium miners, where confounding factors like smoking and diesel exposure complicate conclusions about radon isolated impact.The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Laboratory (SNOLAB), located 2 kilometers underground in Lively, Ontario, provides a unique setting to study the effects of background radiation. Shielded from cosmic rays and utilizing a specialized tissue culture incubator (STCI) that filters radon, SNOLAB offers environments with varied radiation levels: surface-level exposure (at NOSM University), high radon levels underground, and near-zero radiation conditions in the STCI.This study aims to assess the effects of radon exposure and absence of background radiation on human lung tissue using BEAS-2B cells, a non-tumorigenic bronchial epithelial cell line. Experiments will compare cell growth, survival, DNA damage, and transformation across the three environments. Changes in this non-tumorigenic cell line would provide significant insights into radon impact on human lung tissues.