What is Radon and How Does it Affect You?
Learn The Facts -- Radon May Be Contaminating Your Home!
Talk about radon gas and lung cancer has been whizzing around, but here are the facts. First and foremost, radon levels can be reduced, and Evergreen Basement Systems wants to help.
As a member of the National Radon Defense network of radon mitigation experts, Evergreen Basement Systems is a certified and trained radon mitigation expert in Virginia. Contact us today for more information about radon testing and our radon reduction services.
What is Radon?
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that has become the second-leading cause of lung cancer -- second only to cigarette smoke.
Most soils contain uranium that, over time, decays to produce radium and polonium. Eventually, polonium is released with the radon, which creates a high toxicity level in the air and water that it infuses. Perhaps some homeowners are thinking they could recognize high levels of radon in their home. Unfortunately, radon is completely undetectable with any human senses.
We cannot smell, taste, see, touch, or hear radon. Thus, it easily goes unnoticed. When this happens, everyone in the home becomes susceptible to contracting lung cancer. There are also very limited lung cancer symptoms. Even at that, they tend to lie dormant until becoming more severe.
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer kills more people each year than the other top cancers combined. It also receives the least amount of funding, because many people believe it's a self-induced disease. According to the World Health Organization, radon causes 15 percent of the world's lung cancer cases and kills 20,000 people each year.
For those 20,000 people who have never smoked and have never been heavily surrounded by smokers, the lung cancer diagnosis is far from self-induced.
Radon induced lung cancer kills one person every 25 minutes, joining arsenic, asbestos and benzene as a Class-A Carcinogen.
Radon and the Nuclear Bomb
Perhaps the link between radon and the nuclear bomb is something new to homeowners. Radon gas was actually a vital aspect of the gaseous makeup of the nuclear bomb.
The nuclear bomb was used in World War II as an offensive against Japan. The bombs utilized uranium and became known for the residual effects of radiation poisoning. This uranium and radiation are what links the nuclear bomb to radon gas.
Although the levels of radon that resulted from the nuclear bombs far exceed the amounts of radon found in a home, the principle remains the same-- radon gas is very harmful and can be deadly!
Cigarette Smoke and Radon
While the effects of smoking cigarettes are far more recognizable when compared to the effects of radon exposure, there is very little separating the severity of these two causes of lung cancer. How can smoking cigarettes be compared to radon exposure? Check this out!
1 pCi/L of radon is equal to 2.5 cigarettes a day! Multiply a home's radon levels by 2.5 and understand that any homeowner could easily experience the effects of smoking a "pack a day" if the radon levels are at 4.0 pCi/L -- the action level established by the Environmental Protection Agency.
X-ray Radon
The amount of radiation in 4.0 pCi/L of radon is actually equivalent to the radiation in 100 chest X-rays. Sure that seems like a lot, but this gets worse. Most hospitals actually only allow patients to have four chest X-rays each year. Let's do the math. That converts to the equivalent of .16 pCi/L per X-ray and .64 pCi/L of radiation a year with four X-rays. In other words, radon mitigation in Virginia is crucial to the overall health of any homeowner in these states.
Contact Evergreen Basement Systems today and we'll test and mitigate any local home. Knowledge is power: take action against radon.
Be sure to learn more about radon and real estate, as well as our in-depth analysis of radon levels.
Related Pages
The #1 Cancer Risk at Home
See Dr. Oz discuss the dangers of radon with Rebecca Morley, Executive Director of NCHH.