| Radon a concern in 70% of area homes |
|
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:30 am
|
 Email  Print
|
On September 22, 2009 The World Health Organization drastically reduced the maximum level of cancer-causing radon gas that countries should allow in buildings and homes, blaming radon for as many as 14% of lung cancer deaths. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.
Minnesotan Elizabeth Hoffmann is a survivor of radon-induced lung cancer. Although, she had never smoked, her fifteen-year exposure to dangerous levels of radon in her home resulted in doctors having to remove the cancerous lower lobe of her left lung prior to her thirty-eighth birthday. (cited from www.cansar.org )
In 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency blamed radon for the deaths of 21,300 Americans annually. These deaths, like Elizabeth’s cancer, could have been prevented by a simple and inexpensive test. Liz’s home tested double the radon level considered safe at the time.
Radon is an invisible odorless gas that enters homes, a by-product of uranium as it breaks down in soil. It causes an estimated 1000 deaths/yr in Minnesota. Almost 70% of Le Sueur, Nicollet, and Sibley county homes are over the EPA threshold considered safe. According the Minnesota department of Health, everyone in our area needs to test their home every two years for this deadly gas.
Qualified radon measurement professionals and mitigators are trained through programs such as those offered through a U of M and EPA programs. They are then certified, licensed, and insured. If your home’s radon level is high, a professional radon mitigator will design a system according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s protocol to pull the radon gas from the soil underneath your home and exhaust it with a special fan.
High radon levels can be found in homes with and without basements, in new and old homes, and often neighboring homes have extremely different levels. Lately, radon has become a complication in real estate transactions, So it is a good idea for homeowners to test and fix their homes before listing them for sale. The good news is, every house can be fixed and professional mitigators wsill offer a guarantee to lower your home’s radon
As of September, The World Health Organization now recommends that homeowners mitigate their homes when radon levels exceed 2.7 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). This is a much more conservative figure than the Environmental Protection Agency action level of 4.0 pCi/l, which has been the U.S. standard for over 20-years.
John DePree is the owner of Radon Pro. He can be contacted at 507-665-4357 or at info@mnradon.com. Learn more or order test kits at www.mnradon.com
|
|
|
|
| Login and voice your opinion!
|
|
