"Test, Fix, Save a Life."
This is what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants homeowners to do this January, which the agency has designated as National Radon Action Month. Throughout January, the agency is focusing on spreading awareness about radon as a preventable health risk.
Radon As A Health Risk
Radon is naturally formed when uranium is broken down in the water, rock, and soil and gets into the air. The gas can be found all over the country and it can be present in any type of structure. Typically, radon levels of indoors of schools, offices, and homes are where they are highest, but houses are the likeliest source of exposure because that's where most people spend bulk of their time.
As the primary cause of lung cancer-related deaths in American nonsmokers, radon is responsible for some 21,000 deaths every year. The EPA said radon is a preventable health risk but a lot of people still fall to the dangers of the radioactive gas because it is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. As such, radon can reach dangerous levels in a home without anyone even noticing.
Testing For Radon
"Test kits are inexpensive and readily available ... Everyone who takes action helps to make America's homes and schools safer for future generations," said Janet McCabe, Office of Air and Radiation Acting Assistant Administrator for the EPA.
Do-it-yourself test kits are available online and in hardware and home improvement stores, making them accessible to homeowners all over the country. Radon test kits also take just a few minutes to use. According to the agency, tests are recommended for all homes below three stories and action must be taken when radon levels reach 4 picocuries for every liter of air or more.
National Radon Action Plan
Launched in 2015, the National Radon Action Plan was developed with the goal of preventing 3,200 deaths due to radon-caused lung cancer every year by 2020. It was designed using the successes of the Federal Radon Action Plan released in 2011, which led to over 105,000 multi-family homes being protected from radon. Aside from requiring radon tests and reduction systems for the radioactive gas as part of home insurance and financing programs, the National Radon Action Plan also aims to institutionalize reducing radon risk by tapping into building code requirements.
Aside from the EPA, the plan also includes efforts from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Center for Healthy Housing, the Environmental Law Institute, the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction, the Children's Environmental Health Network, Cancer Survivors Against Radon, the American Society of Home Inspectors, the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists, and the American Lung Association.
When a test reveals high radon levels, the typical course of action is to have a radon reduction system professionally installed. Utilizing an exhaust fan and a vent pipe, the system removes radon from underneath the home and discharges it outdoors. Some radon reduction systems can reduce levels of the radioactive gas by up to 99 percent.
