National Radon Action Month

 

For this year’s Radon Action Month awareness campaign, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urges all homeowners to “Test Your Nest!”

This January, learn more about the health risk of radon and the importance of “testing your nest!” Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that that can enter homes from the ground and build up to dangerous levels. Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year, yet many people don’t know about radon or the risk it can pose to their family’s health.

 

 

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania has one of the most serious radon problems in the U.S., ranking third among states with the highest ambient radon levels. (Only Alaska and South Dakota have higher levels of the colorless, odorless, tasteless, radioactive gas.) About 40% of homes in Pennsylvania have radon levels higher than the EPA’s action threshold of 4 picocuries per liter.

There is no safe level of radon exposure. Fortunately, home testing is easy and inexpensive. Whichever test kit is used, the Children’s Environmental Health Network advises homeowners to place it in the lowest lived-in room that’s closest to the foundation, like the basement (or first floor if there is no basement):

Common radon test kits are available at larger home improvement stores. They typically cost about $15. Test kits also can be ordered from online retailers, as well as from the National Radon Program Services.

 

Testing your nest is just the first step of radon mitigation:

EPA recommends that homes with a radon test result of 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter) or more be mitigated with a radon system installed by a professional. Because there is no known safe level of radon, consider fixing your home if it tests between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L.

 

 

The EPA recommends that all buildings, including child care facilities and schools, be tested for high radon levels. As we will discover tomorrow on The PediaBlog, testing schools in Pennsylvania is easier said than done.

 

Read more about radon on The PediaBlog here.

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2023/01/17/national-radon-action-month/