Radon: A Deadly Silence
Parents say there’s no such thing as monsters under the bed, but children still fear them and claim they lurk underneath their beds. They can’t see nor hear them, but they believe they're there. The monsters are the reason they can’t sleep at night; they taunt them and make them feel unsafe under their covers. A dark room is a scary place for a little child; darkness has a crazy way of messing with the mind, making children fear what they can’t physically see, but that doesn’t mean the ghosts aren’t real. Adults may not believe there is a monster under the bed, but he is very real to the minds of millions of children. Sometimes, even as they grow older, the monsters never leave. They quietly wait in darkness....
The Monsters of Today
Radon, like the notorious monsters children fear from all over the world, is not something you can see, smell or taste, but it is very real, and it could be an issue in your home. Radon (Rn), the 86th element found on the Periodic Table, is a natural, radioactive gas produced by Uranium breaking down in soil, rock and water.
Did you know radon, only second to smoking, is the next leading cause to lung cancer in the United States?
According to scientists and health professionals from around the world, roughly 15% of all lung cancer fatalities are due to radon. If your home is infested with radon, you’re inhaling radioactive particles, and as these tiny atoms get trapped in your lungs, they continue to break down further and release small spurts of energy, damaging the tissue of your lungs. Prolonged exposure to radon over time can lead to lung cancer and has been linked to other respiratory difficulties such as chronic bronchitis, pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema.
How Radon Creeps into Your Home
Because the air pressure in the soil around your home is higher than the pressure inside your home, your home is like a vacuum and draws radon in through openings (i.e. foundation cracks) found in the structure of your house. Radon can also seep into the air in your home when well water is used for showering and other household uses. However, radon entering the home via water is a rarity so most homeowners only need to worry about the possibility of radon invasion from the soil.
Solution
Luckily, as dangerous as radon is, it is not a permanent problem. If you think you may have radon in your home, it isn’t the end of the world, and you won’t have to move to live healthily. Even though radon is colorless, odorless and tasteless, it can be tested, and there are two ways in which you can find out whether or not you have radon in your home:
(1) Purchase a do-it-yourself kit from your local store and conduct the test yourself.
(2) Hire a qualified Radon Measurement Specialist and have them do the work for you. It is always recommended to hire a professional if you are buying or selling a home.
If your test shows you have concerning levels of radon in your home, it is important to have a qualified contractor install a radon mitigation system to reduce your radon levels. Do not try to install a mitigation system yourself; lowering high levels of radon requires training and certification.A radon mitigation system will allow radon to bypass your home through pipes installed beneath your foundation and will release it into the atmosphere without ever finding its way into your home again.
If you think you might have a radon problem, Woods Basement Systems, Inc. and Dr. Energy Saver of Collinsville, IL offers free, no obligation estimates on radon mitigation work.