THE RADON PROBLEM
You can't see radon. And you can't smell or
taste it, but it may very well be a problem in your home.
It is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year.
Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas, and when you breathe
air containing the gas, you can get lung cancer. In fact,
radon has now been declared the second leading cause of lung
cancer in the United States today. Only smoking causes more
lung cancer deaths. If you smoke and your home has high radon
levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high. Radon
can be found all over the United States. It comes from the
natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets
in to the air you breathe. Radon can get into any type of
building, homes, offices, and schools and build up to high
levels. But you and your family are most likely to get your
greatest exposure in your home because that is where you spend
most of your time. Testing is the only way to know if you
and your family are at risk form radon. The Environmental
Protection Agency along with the Surgeon General recommend
testing all homes below the third floor for radon. It is inexpensive
and easy to do the testing and it only takes a few minutes
of your time. Millions of Americans have already had their
homes tested. Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon
problems although it can also enter the home through well
water. And in a small number of homes, certain kinds of building
materials may give off the gas, too. However, the building
materials rarely cause the problem by themselves. It have
now been determined that nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in
the US is estimated to have elevated radon levels. Elevated
levels of radon gas have been found in every state including
homes in your state. The public has only recently started
showing interest in this deadly, cancer-causing gas. Contact
your state radon office for general information about radon
in your area. While radon problems may be more common in some
areas, any home may have a problem. Home buyers and renters
are now asking about radon levels before they buy or rent
a home. While radon in water is not a problem in homes served
by most public water supplies, it has been found in some well
water. If you've tested the air in your home and found a radon
problem, and your water comes from a well, contact a lab certified
to measure radiation in water to have your water tested. If
you're on a public water supply and are concerned that radon
may be entering your home through the water, call your public
water works. Since there is no known safe level of radon,
there can always be some risk. But the risk can be reduced
by lowering the radon level in your home. A variety of methods
may be used to reduce radon in one's home. In some cases,
sealing cracks in floors and walls may help to reduce radon.
In other cases, simple systems using pipes and fans may be
used to reduce the gas. Because major renovations can change
the level of radon in any home, always test again after you
have any work done. There are reliable test kits available
through the mail, in hardware stores and certain other retail
outlets. Like other environmental pollutants, there is some
uncertainty about the magnitude of radon health risks. However,
more is known about the risks of radon than from most other
cancer-causing substances. This is because estimates of radon
risks are based on studies of cancer in humans such as underground
miners.