How Does Radon Enter Your Home?
Radon in Soil
Radon gets into the indoor air primarily through pores and cracks in the soil under homes and other buildings. Usually, the air pressure in homes and buildings is lower than the pressure outside in the soil around or underneath the foundation. The pressure difference will create suction. Radon will come through cracks due to that suction (even at low levels). For more information about the risks from radon in homes, please see EPA’s Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes.
Radon in Water
Radon gas can be present in water that comes into your home. Radon is not a concern if the source of the water is from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. In those cases, the radon is mostly released into the air before it enters your home. There may be a concern when your home’s water supply is from underground sources (groundwater), such as wells. For those instances radon can escape from the water during everyday activities such as drinking, washing dishes, cooking and showering. These actions could make a small contribution to the radon gas present in the air in your home.
Radon and Your Health
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General’s office estimate radon is responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S.
Smoking and Radon
People who smoke and are exposed to radon are at a greater risk of developing lung cancer. EPA recommends taking action to reduce radon in homes that have a radon level at or above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air (a “picocurie” is a common unit for measuring the amount of radioactivity).
The chances of getting lung cancer are higher if your home has elevated radon levels and you smoke or burn fuels that increase indoor particles. For more information, please see Health Risks of Radonexternal icon.
Your chances of getting lung cancer from radon depend mostly on:
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For more information on cigarette smoking and radiation, click here
Protect Yourself and Your Family from Radon
Having your home tested is the only effective way to determine whether you and your family are exposed to high levels of radon. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends ALL homes be tested for radon gas.
Steps you can take to measure and reduce radon levels include:
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CDC worked with EPA to produce the booklet A Citizen’s Guide to Radon: The Guide to Protecting Yourself and Family from Radon pdf icon [PDF – 713kb] external icon. Over the years, federal, state, and local agencies have used this citizen’s guide to alert and to inform people about residential radon risks.
The publication includes information about the following:
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How a Radon Test Kit Works
When selecting a radon test kit, EPA recommends that you contact your state radon officeexternal icon for help in finding the radon kit that would work best for your home. You can measure radon levels in your home in two ways: short-term testing and long-term testing.
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Please contact the EPA hotline at 1 800 767-7236 for more information on short and long term test kits and how you can obtain a kit.
The EPA lists the following ways that radon can get into buildings:
• Cracks in solid floors and walls
(#1 and #3 in the figure)
• Construction joints (#2)
• Gaps in suspended floors (#4)
• Gaps around service pipes (#5)
• Cavities inside walls (#6)
• The water supply (#7)
For information on reducing radon levels in your home, please see the EPA page “Basic Radon Facts”.
How Does Radon Enter Your Home?
When you breathe in radon, radioactive particles from radon gas can get trapped in your lungs. Over time, these radioactive particles increase the risk of lung cancer. It may take years before health problems appear.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General’s office estimate radon is responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S.
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