HHS HealthBeat (May 09, 2006)

Breathing that stuff

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

How's the air in your home? Too much exposure to radon – a product of decaying uranium in the soil – can give people lung cancer.

And Surgeon General Richard Carmona says that your senses alone can't warn you about radon:

"You can't see it. You can't smell it. Permeates up into the house. And if it gets trapped over long periods of time, it can become a carcinogen. That means it can cause cancer." (eight seconds)

So the Surgeon General and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are reminding people to test their homes:

"Just about anybody should think about checking their house, because it's relatively cheap. You can get online and look at the EPA Web site, and be able to see advice for buying some of these test kits. You can also hire a consultant that will come out and do it for you." (13 seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 15 2006