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“The only way to understand the amount of radon you are exposed to in your home is through testing by a professional or an at- home testing device,” explains Insoo Park, founder and CEO of Ecosense, a leading
radon testing device manufacturer. “Fortunately, recent years have seen the quality of at-home radon testing devices improve, allowing them to deliver results
that are equivalently reliable to those recorded by professional-quality tools.”
However, Park stresses that a single radon
test result is not sufficient enough to understand your radon exposure. Radon
levels continuously fluctuate seasonally
and throughout the day as temperature and changing weather impact the rate soil gasses are drawn into your home. The only way to know your accurate radon exposure is through continuous monitoring that regularly reports on radon levels over time.
2. Radon exposure can cause lung cancer
Radon exposure is concerning because the gas’s radioactive particles can cause signif- icant damage to the tissues in your lungs. According to the EPA, radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, only coming behind smoking. The Center for Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry estimates that around 14% of all lung cancer cases may be attributable to radon. Given that lung cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer, homeowners should be proactive and prevent radon exposure whenever possible.
When someone is exposed to radon by breathing in radon gas, the radioactive particles from the gas’s decay get lodged in their lungs where they fire alpha particles directly to the lung cells. This direct exposure to alpha radiation can cause mutations in your cells, eventually leading to the development of cancer. However, it can take several years after exposure for cancer to develop — and more often than not, symptoms only begin to show at advanced stages. As such, it is essential to regularly monitor radon levels within your home, as even brief exposures could have long-term consequences.
According to studies, the cancer risk of exposure to only 4.0 pCi/L of radon gas is equivalent to having 400 chest X-rays a year or smoking 8 cigarettes a day. “When the average radon concentration in your home exceeds the CDC’s 4 pCi/L action level, it is essential to take mitigating action immediately to prevent any further exposure,” says Park. “In fact, the EPA recommends action when levels are above 2 pCi/L. The most common approach prevents radon from entering your home by drawing the gas from below the house and venting it through a pipe to the air above the roof where it is quickly diluted.”
3. Radon exposure is even worse for your kids
Additionally, if there are children in your home, it is even more critical to consistently monitor your home’s radon levels and take immediate action if levels are actionable. Because of the smaller size and shape of children’s lungs and their still-developing nature, children tend to be even more susceptible to the effects of radon than adults. In children, the potential of developing lung cancer could be as much as twice as high as that of adults exposed to the same level of radon gas. This statistic only increases if they are also exposed to cigarette smoke.
Given the nature and adverse health effects associated with radon gas, its presence — particularly at elevated levels — should be an urgent concern for homeowners.
“Thankfully, consumers can use affordable and professional-quality devices available on the market to monitor their home’s radon levels, which will help determine whether they need to enlist the help of a radon professional to fix their home and lower their radon levels,” Park asserts. “By taking these steps, homeowners can sleep tight at night knowing that they and their families are safe from the risk of one of the leading causes of lung cancer.”
When someone is exposed to radon by breathing in radon gas, the radioactive particles from the gas’s decay get lodged in their lungs where they fire alpha particles directly to the lung cells. This direct exposure to alpha radiation can cause mutations in your cells, eventually leading to the development of cancer. However, it can take several years after exposure for cancer to develop — and more often than not, symptoms only begin to show at advanced stages. As such, it is essential to regularly monitor radon levels within your home, as even brief exposures could have long-term consequences.
According to studies, the cancer risk of exposure to only 4.0 pCi/L of radon gas is equivalent to having 400 chest X-rays a year or smoking 8 cigarettes a day. “When the average radon concentration in your home exceeds the CDC’s 4 pCi/L action level, it is essential to take mitigating action immediately to prevent any further exposure,” says Park. “In fact, the EPA recommends action when levels are above 2 pCi/L. The most common approach prevents radon from entering your home by drawing the gas from below the house and venting it through a pipe to the air above the roof where it is quickly diluted.”
3. Radon exposure is even worse for your kids
Additionally, if there are children in your home, it is even more critical to consistently monitor your home’s radon levels and take immediate action if levels are actionable. Because of the smaller size and shape of children’s lungs and their still-developing nature, children tend to be even more susceptible to the effects of radon than adults. In children, the potential of developing lung cancer could be as much as twice as high as that of adults exposed to the same level of radon gas. This statistic only increases if they are also exposed to cigarette smoke.
Given the nature and adverse health effects associated with radon gas, its presence — particularly at elevated levels — should be an urgent concern for homeowners.
“Thankfully, consumers can use affordable and professional-quality devices available on the market to monitor their home’s radon levels, which will help determine whether they need to enlist the help of a radon professional to fix their home and lower their radon levels,” Park asserts. “By taking these steps, homeowners can sleep tight at night knowing that they and their families are safe from the risk of one of the leading causes of lung cancer.”
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