When radon decay products are inhaled, they stick to sensitive lung tissue. Being short-lived, they will break down while they are in the lungs. This exposes the lung tissue to radiation.
If the alpha particle hits the live pulmonary epithelium DNA, it can damage the cancer suppressant genes and increase risk for contracting lung cancer. In addition to the alpha particle causing double and single strand DNA breaks, the alpha particle can also cause ionization of material around the DNA that can also damage it. This is the mechanism that radon (and more specifically the radon decay products) can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer. What is the probability of this happening? It is based on how much radon you are exposed to and for how long.
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