What is radon gas? Is it unsafe?
Is radon really bad for you?
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. http://www.pearltrees.com/merrinopo9#item314925306 Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths.
However, the outright numbers of radon-induced lung cancers are much larger in individuals who smoke, or who have smoked in the past, because of a strong mixed impact of smoking and radon. Because research, a substantial outcome (95% CI) was obtained for the Bq/m3 classification.
Persistent exposure to radon gas boosts the threat of establishing lung cancer. In the USA, an approximated 21,000 people pass away from radon-related lung cancer cells annually (compared with 160,000 lung cancer cells deaths from smoking), according to the EPA. Radon is the 2nd leading source of lung cancer, and also it's the leading cause of lung cancer cells in nonsmokers, according to the company.
Is radon mitigation really necessary?
When radon gas enters the body, it exposes the lungs to small amounts of radiation. In small quantities, experts say this is harmless. However, in persistent exposures or larger quantities, radon can damage the cells of the lining of the lungs, increasing a person's chance of developing lung cancer.
At the time of our paperwork (January 2011), Maryland was the only state without any kind of radon control program. In addition, 3 various other states had programs that consisted just of web-based details about radon or maps of radon levels in the state.
- Radon gas is a naturally-occurring result of the contaminated decay of Uranium in the soil.
- Depending upon your geographic place, the radon degrees of the air you breathe outside of your residence may be as high as 0.75 pCi/L.
- The national standard of outdoors radon levels is 0.4 pCi/L and it is estimated by the National Academy of Sciences that outdoor radon levels cause roughly 800 of the 21,000 radon induced lung cancer fatalities in the US every year.
- The US EPA has placed it simply, specifying, "Any kind of radon direct exposure has some danger of triggering lung cancer.
How do you eliminate radon?
Possible symptoms include shortness of breath (difficulty breathing), a new or worsening cough, pain or tightness in the chest, hoarseness, or trouble swallowing. If you smoke and you know you've been exposed to high levels of radon, it's very important to quit smoking.
January is National Radon Activity month as well as the Epa is asking homeowners to "save a life" by testing for radon as well as taking care of any troubles they locate. Radon is a radioactive gas and exposure to it causes 21,000 lung cancer cells deaths annually-- just smoking cigarettes creates much more. Because you can't see, smell or taste radon, it is necessary to regularly check the air in your home.
The carcinogen from radon does not come largely from radon itself, however rather from the contaminated products developed in the degeneration of radon. The general results of radon to the human body are caused by its radioactivity as well as consequent danger of radiation-induced cancer. Lung cancer cells is the only observed repercussion of high focus radon direct exposures; both animal and human researches indicate that the lung and breathing system are the main targets of radon daughter-induced poisoning. Inevitably, they discovered that the opportunity of creating lung cancer dropped below one (the no result level) at radon exposure within the variety of 0-4 picoCuries per liter, according to Science Daily.
How long does it take for radon to cause cancer?
Fact: You will reduce your risk of lung cancer when you reduce radon levels, even if you've lived with an elevated Check out this site radon level for a long time. Keep in mind that radon levels below 4 pCi/L still pose some risk and that radon levels can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below in most homes.