More and more people are becoming aware of how dangerous radon is. But it doesn’t stop health organizations from raising awareness about the adverse effects of this cancer-causing gas. Since a long time exposure to high radon levels can damage the cells in your lungs, there is a need for radon mitigation to ensure that every home in the United States is safe for each family. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that can enter your home in so many ways, leaving a question to most people, can this radioactive gas contaminate objects? If so, what are its harmful effects?
Radon in the Basement
As stated earlier, radon is naturally occurring. Although you cannot prevent its existence, you can avoid having high radon levels in your home. Since most houses in the United States have basements, homeowners should consider getting these areas tested for radon. Take note that radon can enter through the cracks seen in your floors, especially near the foundation of your home. Besides, basements are places where most homeowners keep the things they don’t often use. If you need these things one day, you might be concerned if radon has contaminated the objects stored in your basements.
If you are concerned about radon contamination in objects, you should not since radon decays quickly into non-noble products. Although the gas attaches itself to tangible things and the decay products sound alarming, radon concentrations at normal levels should not unto themselves be a cause for concern relative to the production of the decay products. Radon in objects is not a primary concern since the gas does not react very well with anything. For instance, when you breathe radon in, most of it gets breathed out without interacting with your lung tissues.
People should not be alarmed only with radon but with its decay products as well. The decay products are called radon progeny, particulates similar to small dust particles that can attach themselves to lung surfaces. These particles deliver a radiation dose from the alpha particles that the radon progeny emits. Most people are afraid of the health risk but it does not come from the gas itself but the progeny that the radon atoms turn into.
Radon Contamination in Objects
Radon can be found in objects, but people should not be afraid of it. If you conduct a radon test in your home and found out high radon levels in one area, it doesn’t mean that there are also high radon levels in the other rooms. What you can see in the objects you think are contaminated are the road progeny, which are like tiny dust particles. According to radon contractors, the amount of radioactivity associated with the progeny particles should not be more than the radioactivity associated with the radon gas parent.
Radon is a dangerous gas, but you should not panic when you find out that your home has high radon levels. This is because there are different ways on how to conduct radon mitigation. There are temporary solutions that you can apply to reduce radon levels. Once you have prepared a budget for more permanent radon reduction techniques, you can call the nearest radon contractor in your state to solve your radon problems.
