Radon – Is Your Home Raising Your Lung Cancer Risk

David

David

Opinions are my own...
PREMO Member
From the American Lung Association...

Radon – Is Your Home Raising Your Lung Cancer Risk?

Mention radon to most people, and you’ll get a blank stare. But mention lung cancer, and you’ve got their attention! Most people don’t know that exposure to radon, an invisible odorless gas, is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. Maryland is recognized as having a very high risk of radon, so we at the American Lung Association want you to know how to protect your family. A simple test in your home can tell you if you need to take steps to reduce the risk to yourself and your family. November, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, is a perfect time to learn more and test your home.

Radon, a radioactive gas from the soil and rock beneath many homes, keeps itself well hidden. You can’t see it, smell it or taste it, but according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are radon-related.

November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, but anytime is the right time to find out if radon is a health threat in your home. Radon can build up in any house – old or new – and performing a radon test is the only way to find out if your home has unsafe levels. Homeowners can use do-it-yourself radon testing kits. To find out where to buy a kit, call 1-800-SOS RADON (1-800-767-7236), or visit the EPA website: www.epa.gov/radon.

If you have high levels of radon, mitigation systems can be installed that effectively pull radon out of your home. If you’re building a new home, consider installing a simple, inexpensive ventilation system that can protect your family from radon gas.

The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced that they will require testing for radon in any multi-family housing that receives HUD financing or refinancing. If high levels of radon are found, HUD will require that the building be repaired to reduce indoor radon levels. This is great news that will protect thousands from deadly radon exposure.

But more needs to be done. The Lung Association is working to make sure that all homes get tested, and those that have high levels get fixed. We are working to make sure that new homes are built with these low-cost radon protection systems in place. Because we know all too well the cancer radon causes.
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
Interesting, I thought past reseaech actually showed less instances of breast and lung cancer in homes with elevated radon levels.
 
Railroad

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
The Radon issue is not new, something well understood since the construction industry started widespread use of building on concrete pads in (I think) the 1970s. And for a while there at least, there was a requirement to lay polyethylene over the concrete pad subfloor before putting a floor down. Radon is a gas, but also, its atomic isotopes can attach themselves to dust particles, and be inhaled in higher concentrations of alpha particles than carried by the gas itself.

As noted in Wikipedia, "Unlike all the other intermediate elements in the aforementioned decay chains, radon is gaseous and is thus easily inhaled. Thus, even in this age of nuclear reactors, naturally-occurring radon is responsible for the majority of the public exposure to ionizing radiation. It is often the single largest contributor to an individual's background radiation dose, and is the most variable from location to location. Despite its short lifetime, some radon gas from natural sources can accumulate to far higher than normal concentrations in buildings, especially in low areas such as basements and crawl spaces due to its heavy nature. It can also be found in some spring waters and hot springs.[5] Epidemiological studies have shown a clear link between breathing high concentrations of radon and incidence of lung cancer. Thus, radon is considered a significant contaminant that affects indoor air quality worldwide. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking, causing 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States. About 2,900 of these deaths occur among people who have never smoked. While radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, it is the number one cause among non-smokers, according to EPA estimates.[6]"
 
Railroad

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
Interesting that ionizing radiation can be thought to actually reduce the chances of developing cancer. But, DUH, we use radiation therapy in combating cancer, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

When I was trained about nuclear safety back in the late 70s and early 80s, basically the objective was to train those of us who worked in the vicinity of reactors and other sources to be mindful of our Total Lifetime Dose and attempt to manage or limit our exposure to the various types of radiation (alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays). Sources like Radon were pretty much considered facts of life in "background" or ambient radiation, and routine exposure to those sources was considered to be very minor, but still worthy of taking into account when managing one's total lifetime dose.

With that in mind, when I read about the Radon issue and consider the hypersensitivity in today's society about anything potentially harmful, I don't find that I need to get the least bit perturbed about commonly occurring Radon. A day at the beach involves a lot more exposure to ionizing radiation than most people know, and a walk in a major city near stone-finished public building features some pretty surprising exposure.

So, again, much ado about not much, as I see it. :shrug:
 
Railroad

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
OBTW, it's scary for some, to see the levels of ionizing radiation exposure for cigarette smokers.
 
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