Experts estimate that many homes in the United States – around one out of every fifteen houses – have high levels of radon, which are at or even much above the action level set by the EPA. Therefore, you should do local radon testing to determine if your home and family are in danger of exposure to this deadly gas.
If you don’t have radon presence in your home, count yourself very lucky. Otherwise, you still have an opportunity to correct the predicament. Get local radon testing done as soon as you can to take the first step toward protecting your family from the health risk.
What Is Radon, Exactly?
You should not postpone and forget about having your property undergo testing for radon if you want to be truly safe in your home. Even equipping your house with advanced security systems, smoke detectors, and fire alarms will not be enough to keep it safe against all possible threats. One danger that will put your family’s health at risk is the presence of high levels of radon gas.
Radon is a potentially hazardous and toxic gas that is normally produced by the natural breakdown of radioactive metallic materials found in the surrounding environment. The rocks, soil, and underground water in, around, and under your property can be producing this dangerous gas.
Don’t assume right away that your home is safe from radon because it can seep through small cracks in walls to enter the house. Your entire family can get constant and daily exposure to this lethal gas. Therefore, it’s crucial to get the services of a local radon testing contractor to perform the inspection in and around your property.
Chronic inhalation of air that’s contaminated with radon gas buildup can be hazardous to the health and well-being of your entire household and even lead to life-threatening ailments.
How Does Radon Affect Human Health?
Being oblivious to the bounds and gravity of the situation will not protect you from the implications of radon in your home. The unseen gas can put your health and physical well-being in imminent danger.
It could be surprising for you to learn that around 20,000 lung cancer cases are caused by radon every year. For every 100 Bq/m of average exposure to concentrations of radon long-term, the risk of developing lung cancer is increased by 16%.
Your lungs may suffer long-term damage if you regularly breathe in the radioactive, fine particles of radon. In fact, even small concentrations of this hazardous gas for a long duration can still endanger your health. Therefore, you must have a local radon testing company conduct the necessary inspection.
Because it’s a naturally occurring gas, radon is impossible to altogether remove from the air. Nonetheless, while radon presence cannot be reduced to zero, radon mitigation and abatement can decrease it to an acceptable level.
What You Must Do
Living in a high radon potential area may put you at significant risk of the deadly gas entering your home. Still, you should avoid jeopardizing your family’s health by conducting radon gas testing even if you don’t live in a potential zone.
Now that you understand how severe radon exposure can be to your entire family, you should contact a testing company as soon as possible. While it’s close to impossible to avoid exposure if you live in a radon-prone city, you can take various steps to reduce its levels in your home.
Do the following to help shield your entire family from the deadly gas:
- Determine radon potential: First, establish whether your city is in a high radon potential region. The EPA website’s zone map will help you verify this information.
- Radon testing: Check if your home’s radon levels are 4pCi/L or higher. If so, you should move to the next step immediately.
- Allow the experts to help: If your home has high radon levels, take the situation critically. Seek the assistance of professionals who can perform comprehensive radon abatement.
Take Action Today to Avoid Radon Exposure
It’s crucial to put your family’s safety at the top of your priority list. Get assistance from Colorado radon testing companies and those in other states to reduce your risk of getting exposed to this hazardous gas. Remember not to put it off to a later date or until it’s too late because the effects are irreversible.
