What Is Radon?
Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas. There is no way to know how much radon is in a home until you test for it. Radon is formed by the natural radioactive decay of uranium in rock, soil and water, and is chemically inert.
Testing for radon is important, because The Surgeon General has stated that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States . Only smoking causes more cases of lung cancer. If you smoke and are exposed to elevated radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high. Breathing radon does not cause any short-term health effects, and not everyone exposed to elevated levels of radon will develop lung cancer. The amount of time between exposure and onset of lung cancer may be many years.
Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes has a radon level that the EPA considers to be too high. If the tested measurement of radon is 4 pico-curies per liter (4 pCi/L) or higher, the EPA suggests that a radon mitigation system be installed.
|
