Radon Gas – Your Lungs Deserve Better

We all know that cancer is one of the leading destroyers of lives around the world. As a result, most people have learned over time to take precautions in many areas of their lives to avoid it: eating healthy, avoiding tobacco and second-hand smoke, and so on. However, one of the most potent causes of cancer, specifically lung cancer is likely found in your home, regardless of how healthy a lifestyle you live: radon gas and radon poisoning.

The soil in your yard contains Uranium. Uranium contains radioactive properties, and the Uranium in the earth decays over time, releasing that radioactivity into the air in the form of radon gas. Depending on where you live, the levels of radon gas in your home may not be safe. In reality, no level of radon gas is completely safe, but there are levels deemed normal and acceptable by the World Health Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The target radon level for residences is 4.0 pCi/L of air. According to the EPA, in Colorado between one-third and one -half of the homes have radon levels in excess of the EPA recommended action level of 4.0 pCi/L of radon per liter of air.

Radon gas effects a person’s health in a number of different ways. It heightens the risk of lung cancer by over 16% for non-smokers and 60% for smokers per 2.7pCi/L, according to EPA and WHO research. Studies also show that radon gas is actually the primary cause of lung cancer in smokers. The EPA strongly recommends that anyone with radon levels in their home exceeding 4.0 pCi/L take immediate corrective action to reduce radon levels.

One of Colorado’s’ leading companies in the business of making sure residential radon gas levels are safe is Advanced Radon Systems. The company offers a simple, yet effective and inexpensive test that you can take to assess the radon levels in your home and determine whether further action needs to be taken to mitigate radon’s effect.