Radon is the #2 cause of lung cancer. You owe it to your loved ones to make sure they are not exposed to this deadly, silent, tasteless, odorless killer.
EPA estimates that about 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are radon-related. Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Radon is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water. Radon is a form of ionizing radiation and a proven carcinogen. Lung cancer is the only known effect on human health from exposure to radon in air. Thus far, there is no evidence that children are at greater risk of lung cancer than are adults.
Radon in air is ubiquitous. Radon is found in outdoor air and in the indoor air of buildings of all kinds. EPA recommends homes be fixed if the radon level is 4 pCi/L (pico Curies per Liter) or more. Because there is no known safe level of exposure to radon, EPA also recommends that Americans consider fixing their home for radon levels between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L. The average radon concentration in the indoor air of America's homes is about 1.3 pCi/L. It is upon this level that EPA based its estimate of 20,000 radon-related lung cancers a year upon. It is for this simple reason that EPA recommends that Americans consider fixing their homes when the radon level is between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L. The average concentration of radon in outdoor air is .4 pCi/L or 1/10th of EPA's 4 pCi/L action level.
For smokers the risk of lung cancer is significant due to the synergistic effects of radon and smoking. For this population about 62 people in a 1,000 will die of lung-cancer, compared to 7.3 people in a 1,000 for never smokers. Put another way, a person who never smoked (never smoker) who is exposed to 1.3 pCi/L has a 2 in 1,000 chance of lung cancer; while a smoker has a 20 in 1,000 chance of dying from lung cancer. Figure A compares the risks between smokers and never smokers; smokers are at a much higher risk than never smokers, e.g., at 8 pCi/L the risk to smokers is six times the risk to never smokers.
The radon health risk is underscored by the fact that in 1988 Congress added Title III on Indoor Radon Abatement to the Toxic Substances Control Act. It codified and funded EPA's then fledgling radon program. Also that year, the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning about radon urging Americans to test their homes and to reduce the radon level when necessary (U.S. Surgeon General).
Unfortunately, many Americans presume that because the action level is 4 pCi/L, a radon level of less than 4 pCi/L is 'safe'. This perception is altogether too common in the residential real estate market. In managing any risk, we should be concerned with the greatest risk. For most Americans, their greatest exposure to radon is in their homes; especially in rooms that are below grade (e.g., basements), rooms that are in contact with the ground and those rooms immediately above them.
Radon Risk If You Smoke
Radon Level | If 1,000 people who smoked | The risk of cancer from radon | WHAT TO DO: |
20 pCi/L | About 260 people could get lung cancer | 250 times the risk of drowning | Fix your home |
10 pCi/L | About 150 people could get lung cancer | 200 times the risk of dying in a home fire | Fix your home |
8 pCi/L | About 120 people could get lung cancer | 30 times the risk of dying in a fall | Fix your home |
4 pCi/L | About 62 people could get lung cancer | 5 times the risk of dying in a car crash | Fix your home |
2 pCi/L | About 32 people could get lung cancer | 6 times the risk of dying from poison | Consider fixing between 2 and 4 pCi/L |
1.3 pCi/L | About 20 people could get lung cancer | (Average indoor radon level) | (Reducing radon |
0.4 pCi/L | About 3 people could get lung cancer | (Average outdoor radon level) | |
Note: If you are a former smoker, your risk may be lower. | |||
Radon Risk if you've never smoked
Radon Level | If 1,000 people who never | The risk of cancer from radon | WHAT TO DO: |
20 pCi/L | About 36 people could get lung cancer | 35 times the risk of drowning | Fix your home |
10 pCi/L | About 18 people could get lung cancer | 20 times the risk of dying in a home fire | Fix your home |
8 pCi/L | About 15 people could get lung cancer | 4 times the risk of dying in a fall | Fix your home |
4 pCi/L | About 7 people could get lung cancer | The risk of dying in a car crash | Fix your home |
2 pCi/L | About 4 people could get lung cancer | The risk of dying from poison | Consider fixing between 2 and 4 pCi/L |
1.3 pCi/L | About 2 people could get lung cancer | (Average indoor radon level) | (Reducing radon levels below |
0.4 pCi/L |
| (Average outdoor radon level) | |
Note: If you are a former smoker, your risk may be higher. | |||
The most common way to test for Radon in your home is by using a airtight container with activated charcoal (looks like a tuna can). These are inexpensive devices that anyone can use. They can be purchased for less than $10 [including lab fees] at almost any home supply stores. To perform the 'test' the can is opened in the area to be sampled and radon in the air adsorbs onto the charcoal granules. At the end of the sampling period, the container is sealed and sent to a laboratory for analysis. This method of testing is very inaccurate (20% error rate). Because of the inherent problem with these devices most real estate transactions require two devices to be placed, sided by side, at each test location. This testing method is easily tampered with and is greatly affected by environmental factors (never mind the 20% error rate).
If your home inspector/ technician suggests using the charcoal canister testing method you owe it to your loved ones to call the next inspector on your list. I use a continuous Radon Monitoring System.
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