We always have your safety and comfort in mind. Which is why we want to share some very important information with you: January is National Radon Action Month, and it definitely deserves serious attention. You can’t see or taste it, but radon can present at a dangerous level in your home, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America (claiming 21,000 each year).
But the good news is that it’s a preventable health risk, and just by testing the radon levels in your home, you can help prevent unnecessary exposure.
How do you test for radon?
The U.S. Surgeon General recommends all homes be tested for radon gas, and guess what? It’s easy to do. First, purchase a test kit, which you can find in a number of places, including:
- at your local home improvement or hardware store
- online
- your state radon office
You can also hire a qualified tester to do a radon test for you. If you do it yourself, all you have to do is open the package and position the test kit in the appropriate place (most tests take two to seven days to complete). After sending the test kit back to the address in the package, the company will send your radon test results in about two weeks.
The cost to reduce radon depends on how your home was built and how you use it. Most homes can be fixed for about the same cost as other common home repairs.
More about radon
What else do you need to know about radon – besides the fact that you need to test your home? Here are some additional facts:
- Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas released in rock, soil and water that can build up to dangerous levels inside any home; this means new and old homes, well sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without a basement.
- It is odorless and invisible, and the only way to know if your home has a radon problem is to test for it.
- Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer for people who do smoke.
- Radon has been found in every state.
- Homes with high levels of radon have been found in every state.
- Radon levels can vary greatly from home to home – even levels next door can be very different.
- Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), a measurement of radioactivity. In the United States, the average indoor radon level is about 1.3 pCi/L. The average outdoor level is about 0.4 pCi/L.
- The U.S. Surgeon General and EPA recommend fixing homes with radon levels at or above 4 pCi/L.
- EPA also recommends that people think about fixing their homes for radon levels between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L.
Have questions?
For more information about radon testing, call 1?800?SOS?RADON (1?800?767?7236), or visit www.epa.gov/radon/radontest.html.
