Region 1: EPA New England
Radon Action Month: Simple Solutions for Homeowners to Target and Eliminate Radon Health Risks
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
By Robert
W. Varney
January 12, 2006
With our calendars now showing January, which is Radon Action Month, we are reminded of the need to protect our families from a preventable environmental hazard.
Radon is easy to forget or ignore. We don't notice it through smell, touch, taste, sight or hearing. Yet this naturally-occurring gas, colorless and odorless - and radioactive - is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and may threaten one of every 15 homes in our country.
The good news is that awareness and action are powerful weapons for homeowners to find out if their home has radon. Testing your home for radon is very easy. If the air in your house does have radon, it’s not difficult to take steps to protect your family’s health.
Most commonly, radon is found in the soils beneath and around your home. A radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in bedrock, radon can accumulate to unsafe levels in homes by leaking in through cracks in building foundations. Radon gas can also enter homes through drinking water if the water is contaminated with radon, which can increase dangerous concentrations in the home, especially when showering.
There is widespread scientific agreement that inhaling a radioactive gas like radon can damage cells in the lungs and cause cancer. The number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, as many as 21,000 people in the U.S. die each year as a consequence of exposure to radon. In New England alone, it is estimated that nearly a thousand preventable deaths occur each year due to this silent killer.
Homeowners who have not already tested the air in their home for radon should do it now. During the winter months when our boilers and furnaces work all day, and we keep windows and doors sealed shut, radon is more likely to be drawn into the home from underground sources. Testing your home is easy. Many radon test kits which meet EPA guidelines cost under $25.
Radon is measured in pico curies (which is a rate of decay of radiation) per liter of air (pCi/L). EPA recommends fixing homes that test 4 pCi/L or more. Since there is no proven healthy level of radon, EPA further suggests fixing homes that have between 2 and 4 pCi/L. The average radon concentration per home in the U.S. is about 1.3 pCi/L.
Since radon problems can be solved, you should not delay having your home tested -- and don’t be discouraged if you find radon in your home. Dangerous radon levels are completely preventable and can be fixed at any time. State experts, who work with EPA, can refer you to a trained radon mitigation contractor who can advise you how to reduce the radon levels in your home.
Approximately one in four homes in New England has a radon problem. If you rent, ask the landlord if your home has been tested and ask for a copy of the results. If you are buying a home, this is also a great time to test and mitigate radon problems - before you move in. Conversely, if you’re selling a home, think of the advantage being able to show prospective purchasers that your home has been tested or that the problem has been fixed.
Radon is perhaps the most preventable environmental hazard we can be exposed to day-to-day. The cost of testing and mitigating your home is low compared to the high risks associated with prolonged exposure to this invisible radioactive gas. Now is the time to test your home and protect your family from radon.
For more information:
Robert W. Varney is regional administrator of EPA's New England Office in Boston.