Radon-222 is a radioactive gas that is released during the decay of thorium and uranium, which are naturally occurring elements, found in rock and soil. Radon is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, therefore it cannot be detected with the human senses.
Radon-222 decays into radioactive elements called radon decay products two of which, polonium-218 and polonium-214, shoot out alpha particles that are highly damaging to the lung tissues. These radon decay products that emit alpha particles have been linked to causing lung cancer in humans.
Radon-222 is a radioactive gas that is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, making it undetectable by the human senses. Radon is estimated to cause many tens of thousands of lung cancer deaths each year.
The Surgeon General warned that radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer in the US, with the leading cause being smoking. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is 10x higher. Like tobacco smoke, radon is a group 1 carcinogen. At a level of 10 pCi/L, radon exposure is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
Radon is created from the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water. The air pressure in the soil around your home’s foundation is usually higher than the air pressure inside your home, and because of this difference in pressure, your home acts like a vacuum, drawing radon, and other soil gases, in through foundation cracks and other opening.
The only way to know if you have elevated radon levels in your home is to perform a test. Just because your neighbor tested, and has high or low levels of radon, does not mean the same goes for your house. Radon levels vary from house to house, and the EPA recommends everybody tests their home.
No radon level is safe. Your risk of getting lung cancer is directly proportional to the concentration and duration of exposure to radon: the higher the radon level, the higher the health risk. The 4 pCi/L Action Level encouraged by the EPA is based on current mitigation technology. High radon levels can almost always be reduced to below 4 pCi/L and to 2 pCi/L or lower around 75%percent of the time with the mitigation technology used today. The USEPA also recommends that you mitigate radon gas even at levels between 2 and 4 pCi/L.
In 2010, an International action level of 2.7 pCi/L was established by the World Health Organization, and implementation has already occurred in several countries.
Average outdoor radon level 0.4 pCi/L
Average radon level in homes 1.3 pCi/L
Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas that is created from the breakdown of Uranium in the soil.
Radon comes up through the soil and rocks under your homes foundation, and seeps through cracks in the concrete walls and floors, floor drains, sump pumps, joints, and hollow brick block-walls.
Radon has always existed. but it wasn’t until the 1980s that unsafe radon levels were discovered inside homes across the United States.
Radon has always existed. but it wasn’t until the 1980s that unsafe radon levels were discovered inside homes across the United States.
Test your home with an EPA listed, or State certified easy-to-use inexpensive test kit, or by hiring an EPA-listed or State-certified radon measurement provider to test your home for you.
Yes. The use of certified and insured professionals is recommended. State radon offices can recommend qualified mitigators. In some cases, radon problems can be fixed by the homeowners if they are an experienced do-it-yourselfer.
No. Radon concentrations vary from house to house. The only way to know for sure if you have a radon problem is to conduct a simple test.
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