High radon level can cause cancer in the long-term


You can't smell it, taste it or see it, so why worry about radon? Because it kills an estimated 21,000 people every year. Because your house might have dangerous levels of it.

Because you probably won't know until years down the road whether it's affecting your health - or your children's.

Because it costs only about $6 to find out whether you should worry.

Radon is a gas produced when uranium that occurs naturally in soil or water breaks down. And radon is a proven carcinogen. Indoors, it can build up to dangerous levels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 1 in 15 homes nationwide has a radon level high enough to affect health.

Radon is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers. It's the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, says Denise Dias, Sedgwick County (Kan.) Extension agent.

Lung cancer is the only known human risk from radon. There is no evidence that children are at greater risk than adults.

Radon's effects don't show up for years, so it tends to be overlooked as a pollutant, says John Stark, air quality supervisor for Wichita's Department of Environmental Services.

The EPA has an "action level" of 4 picocuries per liter of air. A picocurie is a trillionth of a curie, a measure of radioactivity. The EPA recommends that homeowners consider steps to reduce levels that are between 2 and 4 picocuries.

To find our your radon level Do-it-yourself kits are available at hardware stores. Professionals can test if you want faster results. Look in the yellow pages under "Radon Detection and Removal Services" to find one.

Radon comes in from the soil, so it can seep in through sump pumps, foundations, basements, cracks in walls and other openings.

If you have bathroom fans, fireplaces and dryer vents that take air out of the house, "you create the potential to increase the air coming up from the ground and soil gases," Stark says. But if you have kids who fly in and out of the house all day, or live in an old house that leaks air, your house gets more ventilation.

If you have a high level of radon it can be fixed. A process called remediation is recommended. That may include sealing cracks, covering sump pumps and adding vent systems. Costs may range from $500 to $2,000, depending on the fix.

Dias says do-it-yourself kits are available for those who are handy. Stark recommends that you not use the same professional to test for radon and to fix problems, to prevent possible conflicts of interest.

By Karen Shideler

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