It can enter buildings through cracks in floors or walls, construction joints, or gaps in foundations around pipes, wires or pumps. Radon levels are usually highest in the basement or crawl space.
When someone breathes in radon gas, it goes into their lungs, exposing them to small amounts of radiation. This may damage the cells in the lining of the lungs and increase a person's risk of lung cancer.
The risk is higher in those who have lived for many years in a radon-contaminated house. Exposure to the combination of radon gas and cigarette smoke creates a greater risk for lung cancer than either factor alone.
You can hire a professional tester or do it yourself with a kit you buy at a hardware store or online. Follow the instructions for leaving the kit in your house for the required number of days.
Then mail it to a lab and wait for the results. If radon levels in your home are high, you can take steps to lower them. Radon gas is a byproduct of the underground decay of radioactive elements, such as uranium and thorium. As these substances deteriorate, the gas is released and eventually works its way to the surface of the ground and into the air we breathe. In buildings, however, it can become concentrated.
Every state in the U. While radon is harmless in the low levels found outdoors, when it seeps into a home it can become concentrated in levels high enough to put residents at risk. Radon gas is slightly heavier than air, so while it settles in basements and crawl spaces, whole-house HVAC systems have a tendency to distribute the gas throughout the entire home.
That means even a second story could potentially contain high levels of radon. As a part of the selling process, homeowners fill out a disclosure form that lists known material defects, such as foundation problems, termite infestation, and the condition of the HVAC system. What sellers must disclose, however, varies from state to state, and not all states require sellers to reveal the presence of radon gas. When making an offer on a house, you have the opportunity to have it tested for various issues, including the presence of radon.
Cracks inside the walls and floors of your home can allow radioactive radon gas to creep inside and affect your air quality and health. But indoor air quality in your home matters, too, and it can be majorly affected by the presence of a radioactive gas called radon.
For that reason, every home should take advantage of radon testing, which is easy, inexpensive, and lifesaving, the organization says. Radon is an odorless, colorless, and naturally occurring radioactive gas. It is inhaled into the lungs, where it can damage the DNA, potentially increasing cancer risk , says Douglas Arenberg, MD , a professor in the pulmonary diseases and critical care departments at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.
Radon forms when uranium, thorium, or radium break down in water, rocks, and soil, releasing radon gas into the dirt beneath your home, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC. Radon can enter your home through cracks and holes in the foundation, through well water, and via building materials, the Environmental Protection Agency EPA says.
The gas is odorless and invisible, says the EPA , and it causes no immediate symptoms, so the only way to know if your home is affected is by testing your individual residence. Chronic exposure to radon gas increases the risk of developing lung cancer. In the United States, an estimated 21, people die from radon-related lung cancer every year compared with , lung cancer deaths from smoking , according to the EPA.
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