Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States after smoking. Radon gas causes more deaths each year than drunk driving, yet it remains an extremely underrecognized danger. January is Radon Action month. And we take this time especially to inform others of the importance of getting a radon test.
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Radon is a tasteless, odorless, colorless gas. It exists everywhere at the same time. When uranium breaks down in the earth's soil, it releases radon. It gets into the air you breathe, buildings, and homes. Every single home has some. But, the only way to know if your home has higher than the EPA recommended amount, is to get a radon gas test. Even homes with out a basement, could be at risk for radon.
Radon is usually not an issue in the water of your home if your water source is surface water. If your water source is a public water supply, or a well, then your chance or having radon in your water is much higher. Your chance for contamination is double if this is the case as well. Radon enters your body when you shower in or drink contaminated water. It also escapes into the air, allowing you to inhale the gas as you breathe.
At Trademark Inspection Services, we use state-of-the-art professional continuous radon monitors to actively protect your home from radon gas. We set up our radon monitors in the lowest possible level of the home and let them run continuously for 48 hours to test the levels of radon in your home. The monitors generate a report after and it gets delivered to the client. Trademark Inspection Services backs our radon testing for 90 days after the inspection. We are THAT confident in our inspectors and equipment.
Every January we help spread the word about radon and the importance of getting a radon gas test done. We offer a special discount each January to help cut down the cost of the radon tests a little bit in hopes more people can be informed and protected against this deadly gas.
There are no known safe levels to the amount of radon levels you should be exposed to. So, the EPA recommends getting radon mitigation if your home is between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L. pCi/L = Picocurries per liter. Radon is found all over the United States. In schools, buildings, homes, offices, etc. Generally, you spend the most time at your home, that is why higher levels of radon in your house are so crucial. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths in the United States than radon. The EPA recommends re-testing your home for radon levels every 2 years to make sure your home is still in the safe zone for radon levels.
Radon particles get trapped in the lungs when you breath them in. These particles cause small burst of energy when they continue to break down. If you are a smoker, and live in a home with high levels of radon, your risk for lung cancer is substantially higher than non smokers. Babies and children have a much greater risk for developing lung cancer due to radon because their respiratory rates are twice as high as adults. By the age of ten, children will have taken in twice the amount of radon into their lungs as adults being exposed during the same amount of time.
If your house does have a higher than EPA recommended amount of radon in it, there is help. You can usually get radon mitigation done easily and fairly inexpensively. Our friends over at SWAT Environmental are an amazing radon mitigation company. They can help get your radon levels back below the recommended levels.
As you can tell, radon is an extremely underplayed, toxic gas. Smoking is the only higher cause of lung cancer deaths in the united states than radon gas. Being that radon is tasteless, odorless, and invisible. The only way to know if you home has a higher than the EPA recommended amount, is to have a radon test done. If your home does have higher than the EPA recommended amount, you can have radon mitigation done to resolve the issue. January is radon action month. The purpose of this is to help spread awareness. And, information about radon to those who don't know the dangers of this gas. Be proactive. Be knowledgeable. Get all the information you can about radon. Get a radon test done.
Winter is when homes are sealed tightest, which is when indoor levels are most representative of the exposure people actually get.
After any mitigation work, after significant renovation or foundation work, and periodically otherwise — conditions change and so do readings.
Scheduling is easy, and we are here to help.
