Radon - A Silent Killer that Lurks
in our Homes
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that every home is at risk of harboring a carcinogenic killer inside their houses. This is in wake of the confirmation the most lung cancer deaths were directly related to radon that pervades in indoor airs.
Radon is a colorless, odorless toxic gas emitted by Radium a natural soil element. Radium on the other hand emanates as a component of decayed Uranium in the soil Uranium being a well known radioactive element used for nuclear projects. The soil where our houses are built on naturally contains radon. However, as this gas enters homes unseen and unobserved by seeping in through fissures, and cracks and can even convert into fumes while carried in household running water, the level of radon contamination indoor gets trapped and permeates in our indoor air.
In every square mile of surface soil, and with a measured depth of at least 6 inches, it is estimated that at least 1 gram of radium, is capable of releasing radon to the atmosphere. The greater the concentration of radon on the soil the greater the amount of radon trapped in indoor air.
EPA adds that every home is a suspect for containing radon emissions, the only issue left unverified is how much of this gaseous killer lurks in your home? For as long as radon is released in the indoor atmosphere, residents are at risk of being under constant carcinogenic attacks.
EPA has gathered related facts that lung cancer has the highest number of mortality rates among all other cases of cancer. This affliction has attacked not only smokers but also individuals who have never in their life smoked even a single stick of cigarette. Based on statistics, there are about 21,000 lung cancer deaths annually, directly attributed to radon's effects. What is significant about their findings is that 2,900 of these deaths involved non-smokers, while smokers whose houses contain great levels of radon is at grave risk.
Statistics on asthma alone, shows that an estimated 5,000 deaths in America take place and medical researchers have long suspected that environmental interaction has a role to play in the continuous increase of asthma prevalence. The rise continues to the extent of declaring asthma as already an epidemic.
For as long as radon continues to enter our homes, the accumulation will build up within the confines of each room and will develop into lung cancer among its dwellers.
EPA's Recommendation:
Every home and every building should have their indoor airs tested for radon. The given tolerable level is below 4 picocuries of radon per liter, any level beyond that requires immediate radon treatment since it is already considered a concentration of radon gas that will lead to imminent lung cancer.
Radon can also be present in your drinking water and can lead to stomach cancer. The radon gas you are presently beset with may still be within the tolerable level, but the mere fact that it's in your atmosphere will accumulate and in time, go beyond the tolerable level.
EPA recommends that any traces of radon should be resolved with the use of radon home treatment devices. For more information and guidance about these treatment devices, visit the EPA's "Consumer's Guide to Radon Reduction. The methods and procedures in installing this treatment should conform to industry standards, hence it is important that only certified professionals should conduct the treatments. Visit the National Radon Safety Board (NRSB) for a list of accredited professional members.
