The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated January as national Radon Action Month, a perfect time for you to protect your family by testing your home for radon.
Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, so testing is the only way to know if radon is present in your home or school. Test kits are available in home improvement centers, hardware stores and online. They cost approximately $20. The kits are simple to use with easy testing and mailing instructions.
“Testing for radon is an easy and important step in protecting the health of your family,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “By reducing radon exposure, we can make our homes, schools and communities healthier places to live, learn, work and play.”
Winter is an especially good time to test because windows and doors are closed and families tend to spend more time inside where radon can be trapped.
Buying or building a new home? EPA recommends including radon testing as part of any real estate transactions and consider having your newly constructed home built with radon resistant features.
Unsafe levels of radon can lead to serious illness. The Surgeon General has warned that
radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States with an estimated 21,000 deaths a year. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. By making simple fixes in a home or building people can lower their health risks from radon.
The mid-Atlantic region had a reminder earlier this year about just how important it is to get homes tested for radon when a home in Lehigh County, Pa. recorded the highest radon level ever in Pennsylvania. The concentration measured was 3,715 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Several other homes in the area have had measured concentrations over 1,000 pCi/L. EPA recommends that any dwelling or structure with a radon concentration of more than 4 pCi/L be remediated to lower the radon concentration.
