Should You Be Concerned About Radon Gas?

By : Radon Gas

Radon made headlines in the 1980s, after this invisible, odorless, cancer-causing gas was found at dangerous levels in ordinary homes across the nation.

In reaction, the U.S. Epa and the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services began educating the general public and writing regulations covering permissible radon levels, radon testing and licensing of radon-control specialists.

Today you can find do-it-yourself radon-testing kits on store shelves. Schools and hospitals must be monitored for radon, and a radon-awareness statement must be signed by every buyer.Although the alarm of the '80s seems to have passed, does radon still pose a threat inside your Florida home? Can you test for it? For those who have it, are you able to eliminate it? What are the health problems?
Radon gas is as natural as the air we breathe. A radioactive product from the breakdown of uranium and radium, the gas is present in soil and rock and leaches in to the air. In Florida, it often is found in areas rich in phosphate because more uranium is present in phosphate ore than in normal soil.
Radon becomes dangerous only when it accumulates within an enclosed space. It gets into a house through tiny cracks in the slab, joints in block walls and gaps around pipes. Additionally, it can collect in a crawl space and seep through the floor.

Modern homes, built to be weather-tight, can act as radon traps. With doors and windows tightly sealed, radon can collect in mid-air.

Radon that is inhaled continues its radioactive decay within the lungs. EPA studies of miners show that long-term exposure to radon causes lung cancer. The Surgeon General claims that radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking, in the United States. The gas is not recognized to cause any other health problems.In case your home has elevated radon levels, your lifestyle can impact your risk:
Smoking coupled with radon exposure greatly boosts the risk of lung cancer.
More time spent in your own home increases contact with radon.Just how long you live in the home is another factor because radon's effects are cumulative.

Sleeping in a basement increases exposure because radon concentrates in lower levels of a home.

Florida's hot spots

The state has identified 18 counties with the possibility of high radon levels. They stretch roughly from Columbia, on the northern border, through Alachua and south through the western half of the state to Lee County. Leon County in the northern Panhandle and Dade County in South Florida also are listed.
Though radon has been found here, no Central Florida counties are thought high-risk. However, the nearby counties of Marion, Sumter and Polk are listed.
Keep in mind that radon levels can vary significantly inside a county, and even from house to house.

Testing for radon

Radon test kits are available at hardware and discount stores for do-it-yourself testing. The package must state: ''Meets EPA Requirements.'' A short-term test can give you a quick - though rough - indication of whether you need to do further testing.