Radon Awareness Week - January 24-28
Radon is estimated to cause around 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States every year and is the second leading cause of lung cancer, according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can get trapped in homes and buildings and expose the people who live and work inside, increasing their risk of developing lung cancer later in life. This risk is even higher among those who smoke cigarettes.
The good news is that exposures to high levels of radon are preventable. CDC’s 2022 Radon Awareness Week, observed on January 24-28, raises awareness about risks and encourages prevention by highlighting a different theme each day of the week.
What is Radon?
Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. Radon gas is inert, colorless, and odorless. Radon is naturally in the atmosphere in trace amounts. Outdoors, radon disperses rapidly and, generally, is not a health issue. Most radon exposure occurs inside homes, schools, and workplaces. Radon gas becomes trapped indoors after it enters buildings through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Indoor radon can be controlled and managed with proven, cost-effective techniques.
Breathing radon over time increases your risk of lung cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Nationally, the EPA estimates that about 21,000 people die each year from radon-related lung cancer. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths.
How does Radon affect your Health?
Radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. If you breathe a lot of radon and smoke, your chance of getting lung cancer is very high.
Breathing in radon puts you at risk of it getting into the lining of your lungs, giving off radiation. Over time, that can damage the lung cells leading to lung cancer.
About 21,000 people die each year from lung cancer related to radon. Some research has linked radon to other kinds of cancer, like childhood leukemia, but the evidence for that isn’t as clear.
What are the Symptoms of Radon Exposure?
You won’t have symptoms of radon poisoning right away. Instead, health problems from the exposure, such as lung cancer, show up after many years.
Lung cancer may start as a nagging cough, shortness of breath, or wheezing that doesn't go away. Other symptoms include coughing up blood, having chest pain, or losing weight without trying. If you notice any of these symptoms, call your doctor.
There are no routine medical tests that can tell you if you’ve breathed in too much radon. And no treatments will clear it from your body. But if you think you may have been exposed, talk to your doctor about whether you should have tests to check for signs of lung cancer.
Where does One get Potentially Exposed?
Buildings, like your home, school, or office, are built into the ground. If there are cracks in floors or walls, or small openings for pipes or wires that aren't fully sealed, radon can escape the soil and get indoors. Though it can get trapped in any enclosed area, radon levels are often highest in basements and crawl spaces because they're closest to the ground. Experts say that nearly 1 out of 15 houses in the U.S. has elevated levels of radon.
Some building materials, like concrete and wallboard, are made from natural substances that give off radon. So are granite countertops. But the amount these sources give off is mostly low. They might raise the radon level in your home, though not likely in dangerous levels.
Your job may put you in contact with radon, especially if you work underground or with phosphate fertilizers.
Radon is also in water that comes from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, but most of it is released into the air before the water gets to you. If your home's water supply comes from a well or another groundwater source, it may have more radon than water from a treatment facility.
Protecting Oneself from Radon Exposure
You can test your home or office with a radon kit. Some will measure levels for a few days, and others can gather the data for at least 3 months. You leave a small measuring device in a room, and then send it to a lab. You can also hire a professional to test your home or workplace for you. The Environmental Protection Agency website has a list of approved contractors in each state.
Radon is measured in picocuries. Anything higher than 4 picocuries, or 4 pCi/L, requires action. If you get these results, run another short- or long-term test to be sure. If the levels are still high, contact a certified professional about making repairs to your home or office. This may include sealing cracks or installing a ventilation system so radon doesn’t get trapped indoors.
Exposure to radon is a preventable health risk and testing radon levels in your home can help prevent unnecessary exposure. If a high radon level is detected in your home, you can take steps to fix the problem to protect yourself and your family.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/radon/awareness.html
https://www.epa.gov/radon/national-radon-action-month-information