RADON

Radon (Rn) is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas. Radon is produced when trace amounts of uranium and radium in the soil or rocks decay. The radon gas will then also decay into radioactive solid particles, called radon daughters or radon progenitors. Some of the short-lived radon daughters attach themselves to small particles in the air, which can be inhaled deep into the lungs. The radon daughters may then damage dividing lung cells, possibly resulting in lung cancer. Radon gas is thought to be responsible for 5,000 to 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States.

The major sources of radon are: soil that contains radon-releasing material; water and natural gas that has passed through underground areas containing radon; solar-heating systems that use radon-emitting rocks to store heat; granite rock; and uranium or phosphate mine tailings.

Out-of-doors, radon poses little threat to our health because it is in such a low concentration. Indoors, however, radon can become more concentrated because of the lack of ventilation in homes combined with exhaust fans that draw air. Radon gas can seep into a house through dirt floors, cracks in concrete floors and walls, floor drains, sump pumps, and joints. Radon gas can also accumulate in private wells and be released into the home when water is used. This is normally not a problem for large community water supplies. The level of radon that can build up indoors depends upon the amount of radon in the source material and the rate at which it is removed from the home by ventilation. Homes tested throughout the U.S. show a wide range of radon concentrations.

Radon is measured in picocuries per liter (pCi/l). One pCi/l means that for each liter of air or water, two radon atoms decay to other atoms per minute. Radon daughters are measured in working levels (WL), which is a gauge of exposure. One WL is approximately equal to 200 pCi/l of radon. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that household levels of radon and radon daughters stay at 6r below 0.02 WL (= 4 pCi/l).

These quick, inexpensive steps advised by the EPA can be taken to help lower your risks from radon exposure:

There are two commercially-available radon detectors; the charcoal canister and the alpha-track detector. Both of these are exposed to the air in your home for a specific time period and sent to a laboratory for analysis. The EPA has put out two informative booklets: "A Citizen's Guide to Radon: What it is and What to do about it", and "Radon Reduction Methods: A Homeowner's Guide." For additional information about radon, contact the American Lung Association.

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