Table of Contents
CAUSES OF RADON IN YOUR HOME: CRACKS AND GAPS Coupled with any cracks in the foundation and gaps in your flooring and around pipes, and radon has easy access to your home. A DIY solution is filling in every crack and gap with caulk to limit radon’s access to your living space.
What is the main cause of radon gas in the home?
It comes from the natural decay of uranium that is found in nearly all soils. It typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Your home traps radon inside, where it can build up. Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems.
How do I reduce radon in my home?
More Ways to Take Action Stop smoking and discourage smoking in your home. Increase air flow in your house by opening windows and using fans and vents to circulate air. Seal cracks in floors and walls with plaster, caulk, or other materials designed for this purpose.
What causes high radon levels?
And exposure to high levels of radon can cause lung cancer. In fact, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths each year in the United States, contributing to lung cancer’s status as the #1 cancer killer.
Where is radon most likely to accumulate in a home?
About one in every 15 homes is thought to have high levels of radon. The highest concentration of radon tends to be found in the basement or on the first floor.
What are the first signs of radon poisoning?
A persistent cough could be a sign that you have radon poisoning. Persistent cough. Hoarseness. Wheezing. Shortness of breath. Coughing up blood. Chest pain. Frequent infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. Loss of appetite.
Where is radon most common?
Radon levels are usually higher in basements, cellars and living spaces in contact with the ground. However, considerable radon concentration can also be found above the ground floor. Radon concentrations vary considerably between adjacent buildings, as well as within a building from day to day and from hour to hour.
How do you eliminate radon?
Other radon reduction techniques that can be used in any type of home include: sealing, house or room pressurization, heat recovery ventilation and natural ventilation. Sealing cracks and other openings in the foundation is a basic part of most approaches to radon reduction.
Can air purifiers remove radon?
Can an air purifier help with radon? Yes, an air purifier with an activated carbon filter can successfully eliminate the gas from the surrounding air.
What causes radon levels to fluctuate?
Radon gas is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas found in the soil. Some weather events, like storms, typically cause radon levels in a home to rise. Other events, like heavy winds, can cause radon levels to either rise or fall. Essentially, weather events can cause your radon levels levels to either rise or fall.
Should I be worried about radon?
Radon Is a Cancer‑Causing, Radioactive Gas But it still may be a problem in your home. When you breathe air containing radon, you increase your risk of getting lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General of the United States has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today.
What is long term exposure to radon?
Being exposed to radon for a long period of time can lead to lung cancer. Radon gas in the air breaks down into tiny radioactive elements (radon progeny) that can lodge in the lining of the lungs, where they can give off radiation. This radiation can damage lung cells and eventually lead to lung cancer.
How do you treat high radon levels?
In some cases, radon levels can be lowered by ventilating the crawlspace passively, or actively, with the use of a fan. Crawlspace ventilation may lower indoor radon levels both by reducing the home’s suction on the soil and by diluting the radon beneath the home.
What is the biggest health risk associated with radon?
Breathing radon over time increases your risk of lung cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Nationally, the EPA estimates that about 21,000 people die each year from radon-related lung cancer. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths.
Who is most susceptible to radon?
Who Is at Risk of Radon Exposure? Radon level If 1,000 people who smoked were exposed to this level over a lifetime… * 20 pCi/L About 260 persons could get lung cancer 10 pCi/L About 150 persons could get lung cancer 8 pCi/L About 120 persons could get lung cancer 4 pCi/L About 62 persons could get lung cancer.
What are 5 facts about radon?
Here are a few facts about radon, and what you can do to help keep your family healthy and safe. Radon is radioactive. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. Radon causes cancer. No immediate symptoms. You must test for radon. Radon is present indoors and outdoors. Radon can build up in any building.
Can radon affect dogs?
Many pets spend on average 90-95% of their time inside. You may not know that your pet has radon poisoning until they start showing cancer-related symptoms, such as fever, abnormal swellings, coughing and lack of appetite, excessive throwing up, lameness, and breathing difficulties.
Can radon in your home make you sick?
You won’t have symptoms of radon poisoning right away. Instead, health problems from the exposure, such as lung cancer, show up after many years. Lung cancer may start as a nagging cough, shortness of breath, or wheezing that doesn’t go away.
Can you reverse radon exposure?
Unfortunately there is no cure for radon poisoning. Radon enters the body as in the form of tiny particles. These particles enter the lungs where they release alpha radiation that can damage lung cells and lead to lung cancer. The damage caused by the radiation cannot be reversed.
