What You Should Know About Radon In Your Home

Radon is a large threat for many people all throughout the country. After all, the presence of radon in the home is far more commonplace than many people even actually realize. Unfortunately, up to one third of all homes across seven different states (and in three different Native American reservations as well) have radon levels that test at or even above (and sometimes significantly so) the action level that has been set by the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA. In the United States in its entirety, it has been found at least one fifteenth of all homes have radon levels meeting this action level.

But why exactly is this such a big deal? Unfortunately, exposure to radon – especially long term exposure – can be hugely detrimental to your overall well being. It can even lead to lung cancer, causing as many as 20,000 total cases of lung cancer deaths each year here in the United States, plus countless other lung cancer diagnoses. This brings it to be one of the main causes behind lung cancer in the entirety of the country, second only to smoking and tobacco usage, something that shows just how widespread and prevalent such problems truly are. And with each 100 Bq/m that the radon levels in the home increase by, the threat of lung cancer will continue to increase – sometimes by as much as a full 16%, something that can certainly end up having a serious impact on the lives of a great many people all throughout the country.

Fortunately, living with radon in your home is not something that you must do for the long term (in fact, doing so would be, for the reasons discussed above, quite highly dangerous after a certain period of time). Testing for radon is more than possible, thanks to the radon testing services that now make testing for radon put of their day to day work. And as the typical radon testing company has become easier to get ahold than ever before, residential radon testing is more prevalent than ever as well. Testing for radon has, fortunately, become more and more common with the passage of time, especially as more and more people are growing aware of the dangers that radon can pose to them and to their families.

Even better, testing for radon can be done in a number of different ways. The process of testing for radon, in fact, might even vary among radon testing companies. Testing for radon can be done, for instance, with a short term radon detector. Testing for radon with a short term radon detector can take anywhere from two days up to 90 days. Therefore, it is clear to see that testing for radon is really done on a case by case basis.

Testing for radon, of course, can also be done through the use of a long term radon detector as well, one that typically is put into play after that 90 day mark. Testing for radon through a long term radon detector can be one of the best ways that radon testing and inspection can be conducted. it is certainly one of the most thorough – one of the most able to put your mind at ease when it comes to radon exposure and your risk for it.

But what happens if testing for radon occurs and high levels of radon are found in your home? As is only understandable after hearing about how dangerous radon can be, your gut reaction might be to panic. However, panic is not warranted, as there are ways in which the overall levels of radon in your home can be brought down considerably (at least to safe levels) or even just eliminated totally. Even just implementing passive methods of radon mitigation has been found to cut down on overall radon levels by as much as a full 50%. And in addition to this, you can use tools like a radon ventilation fan to even more fully reduce overall levels of radon in your home. Therefore, managing radon and reducing much of its potential danger is something that is more than possible in homes found all throughout the United States.