What is radon gas? Is it harmful?
Is radon really bad for you?
Breathing radon over time increases your risk of lung cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Nationally, the EPA estimates that about 21,000 people die each year from radon-related lung cancer. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths.
Interior radon can be minimized by securing basement structures, water drain, or by sub-slab, or sub-membrane depressurization. In a lot of cases, mitigators can utilize PVC piping and specialized radon suction fans to wear down sub-slab, or sub-membrane radon as well as other dirt gases to the outdoors environment. The majority of these options for radon mitigation need maintenance, and also it is important to constantly replace any type of followers or filters as needed to proceed proper functioning. A radon level of 4.0 pCi/L is still a health threat, which is why it's important to have specialist radon mitigation. Expert mitigation can typically lower radon levels to 0.4 pCi/L.
Most health and also radiation specialists concur that while a little portion of granite kitchen counters may give off raised levels of radon, many countertops produce exceptionally reduced degrees. According to the United States Epa (EPA), http://louishyed576.cavandoragh.org/learn-more-about-radon it's extremely unlikely that a granite kitchen counter in a house would raise the radiation level over the regular, natural history degree that comes from neighboring dirt and rocks. Still, people worried about radon from counter tops and also from various other home resources can check these degrees using home discovery packages or can hire an expert to do the testing (see the area "How can I avoid exposure to radon?"). The words radon test "stopped working" or radon test "passed" are sprayed out there.
Is radon mitigation really necessary?
When radon gas enters the body, it exposes the lungs to small amounts of radiation. In small quantities, experts say this is harmless. However, in persistent exposures or larger quantities, radon can damage the cells of the lining of the lungs, increasing a person's chance of developing lung cancer.
The US EPA has actually placed it plainly, specifying, "Any radon direct exposure has some danger of triggering lung cancer. Radon gas is a naturally-occurring by-product of the contaminated degeneration of Uranium in the soil. Relying on your geographical location, the radon degrees of the air you take a breath beyond your home may be as high as 0.75 pCi/L.
- Radon gas is a naturally-occurring byproduct of the radioactive decay of Uranium in the dirt.
- Depending on your geographic area, the radon levels of the air you take a breath outside of your residence might be as high as 0.75 pCi/L.
- The national average of outdoors radon degrees is 0.4 pCi/L as well as it is approximated by the National Academy of Sciences that exterior radon degrees trigger roughly 800 of the 21,000 radon generated lung cancer cells fatalities in the US yearly.
- The US EPA has placed it simply, stating, "Any type of radon exposure has some danger of triggering lung cancer cells.
In the United States, roughly 14 states have a state radon programs which train and also license radon mitigation service providers and radon measurement experts. To figure out if your state licenses radon specialists call your state health division. Without the proper equipment or technological understanding, radon degrees can in fact raise or produce various other potential dangers and also extra expenses. A listing of licensed mitigation service providers is available with state radon workplaces, which are detailed on the EPA site at/ radon/whereyoulive. html.
What are the symptoms of radon in your home?
If a person has been exposed to radon, 75 percent of the radon progeny in lungs will become "harmless" lead particles after 44 years. When an alpha particle damages a cell to make it cancerous, the onset of lung cancer takes a minimum of 5 years but most often 15 to 25 years, and even longer.
In a home with forced air heating & cooling, radon gas can conveniently be distributed throughout the entire residence. When radon gas is released using a radon reduction system above the roofing system, the radon focus falls off substantially with range from the point of discharge. As a matter of fact, the radon gas focus approaches history degrees at 3-4 feet from the discharge point.
How long does it take for radon to cause cancer?
Fact: You will reduce your risk of lung cancer when you reduce radon levels, even if you've lived with an elevated radon level for a long time. Keep in mind that radon levels below 4 pCi/L still pose some risk and that radon levels can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below in most homes.