As I mentioned on Monday, Prince Charming and I discovered that our new home has high levels of radon. Mitigation was our next step, but since this is a common occurrence in homes, I’ll explain exactly what radon is and why it’s a danger.
What is radon?
A colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas, radon is extremely toxic. It forms when radioactive uranium naturally decays in rocks, soil, and water. Radon is radioactive and a carcinogen. (Radon’s radiation has enough energy to charge, or ionize, other atoms.)
What does radon cause?
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer – and it’s the greatest cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Breathing in even low levels of radon can cause lung cancer.
To date, lung cancer is the only known health effect of radon.
How is radon measured?
Radon is measured in picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Just in case you’re interested, a curie is an international measurement unit of radioactivity – and a picocurie is one-trillionth of a curie.
How much radon is safe? How much radon is dangerous?
Because of its radioactivity, no amount of radon is considered safe. Currently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency recommends correcting radon levels above 2 pCi/L. Anything above 4 pCi/L is considered dangerous.
Where does radon come from?
Present in the soil, radon gas levels vary from location to location because of the different amounts of uranium present in rocks, soil, and water.
Radon enters a home through soil – rooms that are underground (lower levels and basements) have higher radon levels. According to the EPA, “the amount of radon that escapes from the soil to enter the house depends on the weather, soil porosity, soil moisture, and the suction within the house.”
Because air pressure inside of a home is lower than air pressure in soil, homes can act as vacuums that suck radon inside through foundation cracks.
How do you test for radon?
Since radon is colorless, odorless and tasteless, a test is needed to determine the radon levels in your home. Check out your individual state’s radon program to learn about requirements. For example, some states require radon testing during the sale of a home. Other states do not. And, certain states are particular about service professionals and testing. According to the EPA, “some states maintain lists of contractors available in their state or they have proficiency programs or requirements of their own. Some states offer free or discounted test kits to the public.”
Depending on your state’s regulations, licensed professionals can perform the tests, or you can buy a test kit at a home improvement store and send away for the results.
What’s next
Now that you have an understanding of what radon is and where it comes from, next week I’ll explain how you can reduce radon levels in your home. I’ll also share a little bit about licensed radon inspectors and mitigators.
Sources
http://www.epa.gov/radon
http://www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisks.html
http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/consguid.html#howenters
http://iaq.supportportal.com/ics/support/kbAnswer.asp?deptID=23007&task=knowledge&questionID=22510
Photo credit
scottchan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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I didn’t know we had radon in our home until we went to sell our house (when we first bought the house 8 years earlier, it wasn’t common or required to test for it). The buyers requested the test and we had to pay for the mitigation. The levels were relatively low, but it still concerned me. We also got the new house tested and a system put in here as well.