Скачать или смотреть Indoor Radon causes lung cancer, What is the radon level in your home?

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States after smoking. It is estimated that radon in indoor air causes 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States.

Radon is a radioactive gas. It is odorless and colorless. Radon is the decay product of radium-226. Radon is naturally released from rocks, soil and sometimes ground water.

Radon breaks down into radioactive elements called radon progeny. The risk from radon exposure is almost completely due to two of its progeny, Polonium-218 and Polonium-214. They can attach to particles in indoor air and are inhaled into the respiratory tract. Polonium-218 and Polonium-214 release α-particles which can damage the DNAs inside the cells lining the airways. The radiation damage to DNAs can eventually lead to lung cancer. Smokers are at higher risk of developing Radon-induced lung cancer.

According to the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly one out of every 15 homes in the United States has elevated radon levels.

Radon moves up from soil into buildings and homes and is trapped indoors, where it can build up. Radon can get into homes or buildings through construction joints, cracks inside the walls, sump pump, cracks in solid floor, gaps around service pipes, gaps in suspended floors and ground water in some areas. Any home, new or old, well-sealed or drafty, with or without a basement can have a radon problem.

Because radon is odorless and invisible and it causes no immediate symptoms, the only way to know if the indoor radon level is elevated is by testing it.

The EPA recommends homes be fixed if the radon level is 4 pCi/L (picocurries per liter) or higher.
The EPA also recommends people to consider fixing their homes if the radon levels are between 2 and 4 pCi/L.

High levels of radon are found in the groundwater in some areas. If you use ground water, you should also have your water checked for radon.

I listed the national radon hotline and the EPA website on radon in case you need more detailed information on indoor radon testing and mitigation.

1-800-SOS-RADON (1-800-767-7236)

EPA website on radon, https://www.epa.gov/radon/find-radon