The United States Environmental Protection Agency has declared January as the National Radon Awareness month. This is nothing new of course, as the EPA aims to raise countrywide awareness about the deadly gas. Unfortunately, most people pay the issue no mind unless it’s at the forefront. That is why, it doesn’t matter what month has been designated for radon awareness – everyone should take part in helping educate their friends, family and even neighbors.
Yes, we know it’s not January but that doesn’t matter.
Whenever you have the opportunity to talk about your quality of life, home, family or health you can try bringing up radon as a discussion topic. Worried about what to tell everyone? No problem, we’re going to help you explain everything right here and now.
Radon Awareness: What to Tell Everyone
Radon is more deadly than everyone believes. It is actually the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and it’s responsible for the deaths of more than 20,000 Americans every year. You may very well be living in a residence with elevated radon levels, and yet have no clue about it. That is because radon gas is odorless, colorless and tasteless. The only way to discover its presence is to test specifically for it – more on that later.
Even worse, there are no short term symptoms of radon poisoning. Even lung cancer has no short term symptoms. In fact, by the time a patient is diagnosed with lung cancer it’s probably already progressed beyond a curable state.
Long story short, radon is bad news. However, it’s only a serious issue if you or your family are exposed to high levels for a long period of time. If you get the problem fixed, your risk for cancer will decrease.
That is exactly why everyone should test their home for radon.
Radon Awareness: My Neighbor Already Tested Their Home…
It doesn’t matter what your neighbor’s levels are. It doesn’t matter what the average levels are in your state. It doesn’t even matter whether you have a new home or old one – although new homes are built with radon resistant construction radon can still sometimes seep in.
Radon is a naturally ocurring gas, released by Uranium as a decay product. Since there’s a small amount of Uranium in the soil, it can seep into any home. It leaks in through cracks in the foundation, walls and flooring and unless it’s ventilated properly outside it can collect in large quantities and poses a serious health risk.
The one thing you need to tell everyone, is that they should have their home tested. Period. That’s it.
Radon Awareness: Everyone, Have Your Home Tested
We recommend testing a home at least twice a year, once in the summer and another time in the winter. Try short term tests first and if elevated levels are discovered conduct a long term test which should give you a more accurate reading of the average levels in your home. If you’re not comfortable testing yourself, you can hire an experienced professional to do it for you.
If levels above 4.0 pCi/L are discovered – which is the recommended action limit as set by the US EPA – then it’s time to hire a licensed mitigation professional to install a radon mitigation system. You can find more information on that here.
Think you can handle explained all of that to friends and family? Go for it!
