Radon is second leading cause of lung cancer

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

For some this won't be a surprise, but for many they're unaware of the issue, which isn't a surprise because radon isn't something that just pops out at people.

 

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"When I talk with my friends they'll often say 'I can't see the radon, I can't smell it, it must not be a real thing,'" said Steve Mirowski. "And my retort to that is 'I can't see taxes and they're killing me!'"

Mirowski is a house inspector whose work includes checking radon levels so he knows it's real and that it differs from home-to-home, accumulating mainly in low areas like basements and crawl spaces.

"It's the make up of the soil beneath the house," Mirowski answered when asked why the levels vary from place-to-place. "If it's rich in uranium, the uranium gives off the radon gas and it's affected by barometric pressure and moisture in the soil."

"It's something that's not emphasized enough in the public," said Mercy pulmonologist Dr. Sadaf Sohrab. "Being in the soil it can enter your house if you have any cracks in your foundation or have ground water coming in or drains in the floor."

"I've heard of it but didn't know much about it," said Andrew Wilson, who just bought a home in Ozark. He explained that his real estate agent suggested that he get the home tested.

"Obviously you want to protect your kids," said the married father of two children.

"And the best time to find out if you have high radon is when you're buying the house," Mirowski added. "Because often the sellers will pay to mitigate the house. Not always, but that's typically it."

Getting rid of high-levels of radon is done with a vent pipe and fan system and it's important because according to the EPA, 21,000 people die from radon-related lung cancer each year.

"The reason why it's dangerous inside the house is because the concentration can reach high levels, Dr. Sohrab said. "Because there's not a lot of ventilation, the air's not moving in and out so that makes it even more dangerous. Radon is present outdoors as well but it's diluted."

 

https://www.ky3.com/content/news/Radon-is-second-leading-cause-of-lung-cancer-567565911.html

 

The Oregonian did a piece on this a few months back, not just on Radon but on government/public housing and refusing radon mitigation:

https://projects.oregonlive.com/radon/

 

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Cancer Cloud

The government urges private homeowners to test for cancer-causing radon gas. For low-income tenants of public housing, the government ignores its own advice.

 

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Public housing authorities across the country have refused to find and remove radioactive gas from inside tenants’ homes, leaving children, senior citizens and other vulnerable people unnecessarily exposed, an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive has found.

Radon seeps in through flooring and is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, killing an estimated 21,000 Americans each year. Federal health officials declared indoor radon “a national health problem” more than 30 years ago.

http://www.newtondailynews.com/2020/02/05/are-you-safe-from-radon/axum5c6/

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It is invisible. It has no smell. And it is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America. What naturally-occurring radioactive gas can wreak such havoc? Radon.

“You can’t see it, you can’t smell it, you don’t even know when you have it unless you test for it,” rural Jasper County resident Kathy Richardson said.

Richardson has personal experience with radon and wants to help spread awareness about the risks associated with the gas. Because of its elusive nature, a specific test must be administered to find out if it is in a home, business or any structure. Its difficult detection also causes people to become complacent because it does not openly pose a serious threat.

“If there was a factory in this town that was emitting all that radon and you could see it and smell it and everybody was affected that way, everybody would be raising all kinds of heck,” Richardson said.

To be sure her home was safe, Richardson conducted her own radon test. When the report came back, she found the levels were far above what is considered safe.

“The guy who fixed ours has never ever seen one test so high, never. We were shocked,” Richardson said.

Even though Richardson was unaware of the radon levels in her home, she said there were things going on personally she now attributes to possibly being from the radon levels, things she didn’t normally experience.

After realizing that the radon levels in her home were above safe levels, Richardson went through radon mitigation to make it safe again. Essentially, Richardson said they had to install a ventilation system in their basement.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.epa.gov/radon/epa-map-radon-zones

 

 

 

You can see that plenty of regions have higher relative radon levels, but a prevalence for more northern lying (or winter city) regions, mainly because people in colder climates tend to shut their windows which prevents the diluting of radon gas. There's a lot of myths though surrounding radon, such as whether it be that newer homes are more inherently protected from radon gas, questioning in general whether or not radon gas actually causes lung cancer, etc.

 

There's also plenty of states and other levels of government that have programs pertaining to radon testing. 

 

The EPA guide on radon: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-02/documents/2012_a_citizens_guide_to_radon.pdf

 

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HOW DOES RADON GET INTO YOUR HOME?

Radon is a radioactive gas. It comes from the natural decay of uraniumthat is found in nearly all soils. It typically moves up through the groundto the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in thefoundation. Your home traps radon inside, where it can build up. Anyhome may have a radon problem. This means new and old homes, well- sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without basements.Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems. Sometimesradon enters the home through well water (see page 8).

 

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You can’t see radon, but it’s not hard to find out if you have a radon problem in your home. All you need to do is test for radon. Testing is easy and should only take a few minutes of your time.The amount of radon in the air is measured in “picocuries per liter of air,” or “pCi/L.” There are many kinds of low-cost “do it yourself” radon test kits you can get through the mail and in some hardware stores and other retail outlets. If you prefer, or if you are buying or selling a home,you can hire a qualified tester to do the testing for you. You should first contact your state radon office about obtaining a list of qualified testers.You can also contact a private radon proficiency program for lists of privately certified radon professionals serving your area. For links and more information, visithttp://www.epa.gov/radon/find-radon-test-kit-or-measurement-and-mitigation-professional.

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There are Two General Ways to Test for Radon:

SHORT-TERM TESTING: The quickest way to test is with short-term tests. Short-term tests remain in yourhome for two days to 90 days, depending on the device. “Charcoal canisters,” “alphatrack,” “electret ion chamber,” “continuous monitors,” and “charcoal liquid scintillation” detectors are most commonly used for short-term testing. Because radon levels tend to vary from day to day and season to season, a short-term test is less likely than a long-term test to tell you your year-round average radon level. If you need results quickly, however, a short-term test followed by a second short-term test may be used to decide whether to fix your home (see also page 7 under Home Sales).

 

LONG-TERM TESTING: Long-term tests remain in your home for more than 90 days. “Alpha track” and“electret” detectors are commonly used for this type of testing. A long-term test will give you a reading that is more likely to tell you your home’s year-round average radon level than a short-term test.

 

Your chances of getting lung cancer from radon depend mostly on:

•How much radon is in your home

•The amount of time you spend in your home

•Whether you are a smoker or have ever smoked

 

 

 

 

 

In the US the unit of measurement is pCi/L (picocuries per liter). In Canada and everywhere else really, they use Bq/m³ (Becquerel per cubic meter). 

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

The topic came up on the local radio here, they also mentioned Elizabeth Warren mentioned this issue recently. Resonates well with Albertans since they deal with radon mitigation quite often.

 

Never even knew radon was an issue until moving to Canada, and when a coworker of mine talked about it, we had our basement tested and it was 1,080 Bq/m³ (~30 pCi/L) .. (1 pCi/L=37 Bq/m³).. first floor was around 800 and second floor was around 700.. which resulted in immediately doing radon mitigation on the place and getting it to below 20 Bq/m³ after a few thousand Canadian pesos.

 

That being said, because radon mitigation is also a business, there are also people who hype it, scam, etc., unfortunately this has also resulted in plenty of people pretending this the entire radon health issue is a scam. It's definitely recommended to do readings on radon, do your own testing (should have this for any home you live in, like CO and smoke detectors), and research anyone who does mitigation work, or weigh possibly doing it yourself as well.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/brochure/profile_radon.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143219/

https://www.epa.gov/radon/health-risk-radon

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/radon.html

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/radon-and-health

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Burnt Reynolds