Radon Gas What is Radon Gas and what are the Harmful Effects? Radon gas is a natural element that happens to have a bad side to it. Where it all starts is with uranium. This element naturally occurs in the soil all over the globe. What happens is that uranium decays into thorium and radium, which in turn decays into radon. That’s where it gets bad - radon is a radioactive gas that moves through the soil whenever and however it feels like it.
The way it gets into your home is quite a complex issue. The air in your house is rising continuously. At the lower levels, it mimics a warm air balloon and rises to the top. It pushes against the walls, leaking out. A vacuum is created at the lower levels, as air leaves the basement. This allows the underground air to sort of be sucked into the house. Around 20% of the air in your home gets drawn in from the ground in this manner. Radon Gas: A Real Health Concern As radon decays, it produces a tiny little alpha particle, which is a type of radiation. Unfortunately, it leaves a small "burn" in your lung (which damages the DNA) when you breathe it. This damaged DNA replicates and is much more susceptible to carcinogen invasion. How damaging can this be for you? One out of 140 non smokers exposed to 4 pCi/L of radon over their lifetime can get lung cancer as a result. If you smoke, it becomes 1 in 16. So how many people are we talking about on an annual basis? 15,000 to 20,000 people in the U.S alone. Why is this number so high? Because 1 in 15 U.S. homes has a radon gas problem. That’s a really high number. Thankfully, something can be done about its harmful effects. Even better, you can take preventative measures to mitigate and/or remove the presence of radon gas in your home. Our commitment is the safety of your family, if you have any concern about Radon Gas, dirty Energy Radiation, Carbon Monoxide, Mold and Moisture in your home, give us a call and we will assist you. New challenge about these issues show up to our homes, we can't see, touch or smell but could be here, in your home. Homecoming House Inspections Inc. has all the equipment to check for these harmful gases and determine where the source is and eliminated it or at least to reduce as much as possible its effect. We are confident in our team of professionals. |
Radon (/ˈreɪdɒn/ RAY-don) is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of radium. It is one of the densest substances that remains a gas under normal conditions and is considered to be a health hazard due to its radioactivity. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days. Due to its high radioactivity, it has been less well-studied by chemists, but a few compounds are known.
Radon is formed as part of the normal radioactive decay chain of uranium. Uranium has been present since the earth was formed and its most common isotope has a very long half-life (4.5 billion years), which is the amount of time required for one-half of uranium to break down. Uranium, radium, and thus radon, will continue to occur for millions of years at about the same concentrations as they do now.[1] Radon is responsible for the majority of the mean public exposure to ionizing radiation. It is often the single largest contributor to an individual's background radiation dose, and is the most variable from location to location. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as attics, and basements. It can also be found in some spring waters and hot springs.[2] According to a 2003 report EPA's Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, epidemiological evidence shows a clear link between lung cancer and high concentrations of radon, with 21,000 radon-induced U.S. lung cancer deaths per year—second only to cigarette smoking—.[3] Thus in geographic areas where radon is present in heightened concentrations, radon is considered a significant indoor air contaminant. |