Radon Risk? You Don’t Know Until You Test
By Henry Slack
My neighbors Pete and Beth (not their real names) met while in their twenties, and got married. A great couple. Had two beautiful girls, who grew up in no time at all – field trips and soccer, high school sports, college, adventures abroad. A strong couple, who helped lead the PTA, the band parents, you name it. Never smoked, good folks, the kind you like to have as neighbors.
Then Pete got lung cancer. They had some optimism over treatment, but the optimism faded as the disease strengthened, and he passed pretty quickly. Lung cancer, unfortunately, has a survival rate lower than many other types of cancer.
I don’t know for sure that Pete’s lung cancer was caused by radon. But, radon is the #1 cause of lung cancer for non-smokers. Elevated radon is found in one out of 15 homes nationally, and the only way to know if a home has high levels is to test it.
As EPA’s indoor air guy for the southeast, I get calls every day. Most people are worried about mold. A few are worried about odors, or chemicals they may have been exposed to, or some health issue that they think might be related to indoor air quality. Very few people call with concerns about radon – and yet, radioactive radon gas kills more people than any of those other things that people call about. Radon kills over 21,000 people a year in the U.S.
Twenty-one thousand. That’s around 400 a week, every week, every year. Some of them are parents, spouses, partners, best friends, and neighbors who leave behind a world of grief for family, like Beth.
Test your home. It’s easy and inexpensive. You can get low-cost test kits online through the National Radon Program Services or other vendors. And if you have a high level – 4 picocuries and above – get your home fixed.
About the Author: Henry Slack has been the Indoor Air coordinator in Region 4 since 1991 and still enjoys it. A mechanical engineer by training, he’s on the Radon Team, but has had assignments to CDC and Barbados. In 2014, he became a Distinguished Lecturer for American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), speaking about mold, indoor air, and ventilation.
Elizabeth M.T. O'Nan
Jan 13, 2015 @ 19:01:00
I feel no level of Radon is safe in our homes and the 4 pico curie level is too high. I think all homes should be “required” to have been tested for radon prior to sale and all new homes should be required to have radon evacuation fans. The reason for my beliefs is based upon geirger counter tests in my home which showed a background amount of 50 clicks per minute (CPM). The geiger counter had an automatic alarm that went off at 100 CPM. We noted levels as high as 3400CPM taken off a filter placed in front of an air intake for the HVAC system. Repeated testing showed that the break down period occurred within about 4 days. Previous testing for radon had shown from 1.9-2.9 picocuries. We had quantities of Ansul Foray dry chemical fire extinguisher introduced in our home during a chimney fire by the volunteer fire dept. It appears this product is milled to a nano particle size which would more easily attach to the radon. It is my understanding that any fine particles can attach to the radon and be captured on air filters and presumably our lungs. For this reason a home with a dusty environment might be more dangerous than one with higher radon levels as far as accumulations and exposures to radon. My family has been ignored by the state radiation dept. despite their confirming the radiation levels in our home. They insisted the levels were harmless and from Boron, which has a much longer half life.
Another regulatory problem is the coverup and failure to disclose on MSDS sheets any thing considered a “Natural” material such as radiation and nano particles. Both are dangerous at any level and should be disclosed to workers and the public. When Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials are Technolgically enhanced and further milled to the size of nano particles these are no longer natural products.
In short we need better protection for the public from radon and other dusts and products that can cause death and morbidity.
David Rowson
Jan 16, 2015 @ 19:01:44
Great blog, Henry!
Knalpot R25
Jan 18, 2015 @ 19:02:18
we will not know about effect radon unti we do the test. Because it make the lung cancer effect. So I think we should do test to know about the signs of effect radon for our health.
E Maurer
Jan 20, 2015 @ 19:02:56
What is the exposure period that these exposure levels are set for? It’s not just the level, but the level of exposure for a period of time. I can never seem to find that information.
Also, how it is determined the radon causes so many cancers? Please provide data to support this.
Cleveland Dietz
Jan 23, 2015 @ 19:03:33
Just a comment about what individuals can do across the planet to cut greenhouse gasses. I am a tobacco cigarette smoker, and when I had a job, I would pick up cigarette butts and never turn my car on for those 10 minute breaks. I would like to have a job that I could ride a bike to or walk, but a lot of people don’t have that opportunity. However, if all those that have the opportunity to turn their cars on for a few short minutes, “do not,” that’s millions of minutes every day.
Jim Romanski
Jan 23, 2015 @ 19:06:06
This is a very well written and important Blog post. EPA has done a nice job putting together the public outreach materials for January Radon Action Month.
Unfortunately, they’ve come up short on this effort by not mentioning the importance of getting your well water tested if you live in a state that has high levels of Radon in well water.
I live in Connecticut and when I bought my house I had it tested for Radon and it was found to be < 1 picocurie per liter so I was quite satisfied. Ten years after that a neighbor almost directly across the street from me was selling their house. I spoke to them and found out that the buyer not only tested the basement air for Radon but had the well water tested too. It turned out that they had 60,000 picocurie per liter of Radon in their well water.
The research on whether or not drinking Radon is safe or not is still ongoing so we don't know if there's an unsafe level to drink yet. But EPA has studied the release of Radon in water while washing or bathing with that water. They estimate that each 10,000 picocurie per liter of Radon water releases approximately 1 picocurie per liter of Radon to the air. So my neighbors were routinely exposing themselves to as much as 6 picocurie per liter of Radon in the air while washing or bathing. That's pretty significant. In order to sell the house they had to install an aeration system to reduce the Radon in the water to a safer level.
I tested my well water and found that I had only 4,500 picocurie per liter of Radon in my well water. That's quite a bit lower than my neighbor but their house is built on top of a rocky shelf so that might explain the difference. I wasn't comfortable with even that much Radon so I decided have Carbon filters installed. This is the recommended option if the Radon in your well is at the levels that I had. After the Carbon filters the Radon in my water is down to around 5 picocurie per liter.
In order to tell the whole story about Radon EPA needs to include the recommendation that people test their well water especially in States where they know Radon has been found. You can find lots of good information about this on the EPA website http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/radon/basicinformation.cfm
but it should be part of the latest public awareness campaign.
tia
Jan 27, 2015 @ 19:05:06
Radon is not good in Home….
Lee Blanchard
Feb 17, 2015 @ 19:06:47
Thanks for the update about indoor really informative article…
riksan
Feb 20, 2015 @ 19:07:18
Good article and very inspiration… thank’s.
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Dec 07, 2015 @ 15:54:04
Very Good Blog! Please keep it up!
leeshin
Dec 30, 2015 @ 08:24:29
thank you for explaining the risk factor on radon