Test Your Home for Radon!
Hey Pick 5’ers, it’s time again for you to share what you’ve done, how you did it, etc. If you haven’t done it yet, Pick 5 for the Environment and then come back to comment. Today we cover action #5: Test your home for radon! Please share your stories as comments below.
I never really thought that radon would ever become an issue in my home. Radon is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and chemically inert. Unless you test for it, there is no way of telling how much is present in your home. According to EPA estimates, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. I’m a non-smoker and I needed to know if radon is present in my home.
So on my day off, I decided to visit my county health department to get a free radon test. I received the test. It was easy to set up. So I did the testing for three days. I then sent the kit back to the manufacturer for my results. Later I went on line and used my serial number from my test and got my results. I was really happy to know that my home was radon-free.
EPA has designated January as National Radon Action Month. Please get your home tested; radon is serious.
Now it’s your turn: how do you test your home for radon? If you’re not sure what you can do, learn more on our site.
You can also still share how you save water, commute without polluting, save electricity, and reduce, reuse, recycle.
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About the author: Denise Owens has worked at EPA for over twenty years. She is currently working in the Office of Public Affairs in Washington, DC.
Nov 05, 2009 @ 21:32:38
During the process prior to the closing on my home back in the early fall of 2003 – one of the stipulations was radon testing. The results came up quite a bit over the norm – ergo, the owners were required to install a “radon extractor” which is on 24/7 all year ’round. The floor of the crawl space area of the basement has been lined with very heavy-duty vinyl sheeting.
I’m wondering how many other houses in my area have the system …
Nov 06, 2009 @ 02:54:59
Our home and our neighborhood didn’t try Radon Test. I think this test is very good. Look my children, sometimes forgot to turn off its electricity. Look my servant, she always wasteful the water. Look my neighbor, they didn’t know to arrange their car. Look my city, there are full of vehicle pollution. Did the people in our place not know ?
We must change to save the planet. We need regulation, formal or informal, to maintenance this planet. We need like as Standard of Procedure, from beginning myself, my family, ourselves, nationselves and universalismselves !
Nov 06, 2009 @ 14:56:09
Radon is formed as part of the normal radioactive decay chain of uranium. Uranium has been around since the earth was formed and its most common isotope has a very long half-life (4.5 billion years), which is the amount of time required for one-half of uranium to break down. Uranium, radium, and thus radon, will continue to exist indefinitely at about the same levels as they do now.
– Thank to EPA who has been sending me in search of above information’s. Now, more than ever I get a better understanding on the human health vulnerability, sensibility and easy exposure.
Before I have been using my own technical procedure by leaving my windows open for few hours even in winter time to allow the fresh Air penetration.
By getting new information’s, I understand that the best procedure would be by installing a home radon system.
That is the way we make 3D for human health protection at EPA.
Thanks,
Nov 09, 2009 @ 01:35:30
Radon is easy to test for. And I,m glad I did and the results were in safe levels. It’s being the second major cause of lung cancer means more work needs to be done on building materials, radon monitoring, and chemicals in construction compounds to make sure this is a problem that gets eliminated. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.
Nov 19, 2009 @ 16:19:30
An engineer recently told me that the research on radon risks is not sufficient to warrant testing for it in a house. In other words, the risk has been exaggerated. The engineer said the incidences of, say lung cancer, are not higher in radon areas. Moreover, the risks may be associated with other factors.
Nov 24, 2009 @ 11:28:07
There is no debate about the health risks of indoor radon (www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisks.html). The National Academy of Sciences BEIR VI Report has estimated that radon causes about 15,000 to 22,000 lung cancer deaths annually based on their two-preferred models. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer; major scientific organizations continue to believe that approximately 12% of lung cancers annually in the United States are attributable to radon. The U.S. Surgeon General, the World Health Organization, American Cancer Society, Health Physics Society, and the American Lung Association are among the many organizations that have recognized the risk associated with indoor radon.
Fortunately testing for radon is easy and inexpensive and homes with elevated levels can be fixed. Visit http://www.epa.gov/radon to learn how.
Dec 19, 2009 @ 19:27:12
Radon in ones home is not good. Let us test away!
Jun 21, 2012 @ 10:42:36
I had no idea about radon gas until a friend of mine told me about what it does to your lungs and body, I went out and got a test kit from the EPA and had my home tested. Good thing I did because the level in my house was over 6! I had a radon mitigation system installed and my house is now find but I still wonder if it will have any lasting affects to my health!