Check for Radon During Lung Cancer Awareness Month

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and while many people and health organizations rightly focus on smoking-related lung cancer, we also want to help spread awareness of radon. Many people in the United States are unaware of radon. But radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, and many people, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest regions are susceptible. Radon-Rid, LLC encourages you to test your home for radon, and here is why testing is so important.

How Radon Affects Lung Cancer

Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas found all over the world within rocks, water, and soil. The gas is also colorless, odorless, and tasteless, so people are completely unaware when breathing radon. While people are exposed to radon, the exposure is usually in minute quantities that cause little, if any, issues by themselves. The problem occurs in people’s homes, or in buildings where they spend a lot of time, such as schools, where radon can seep into from the ground, over a long period of time. Over many years, radon slowly damages the cells that line the lungs, increasing the risk of lung cancer. Lung cancer risk is especially high for smokers, and generally, women are at greater risk than men.

High levels of radon concentration can be found anywhere, in any type of building structure. Radon typically enters buildings through cracks in the foundation, construction joints, or drains. The gas can even enter buildings through well water. The unique geology of the Northeast and Midwest United States creates the potential for many areas to have a serious radon threat that can affect people every day. Around 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year have been attributed to exposure to high levels of radon. As dangerous and harmful as radon is, the silent killer can be avoided, and that process all starts with testing.

Test Your Home for Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Many organizations such as the Lung Cancer Foundation of America will spend Lung Cancer Awareness Month spreading awareness throughout the country on the causes, effects, and solutions to lung cancer. Awareness is an important first step in recognizing radon; the next step is testing.

Testing your home for radon is vital to fully understand the scale and severity of a potential radon problem, regardless of where you live or how old your house is. Getting your home tested in November, or any of the winter months for that matter, is a smart decision. Both short-term and long-term testing are important, and we are able to perform both to get the most accurate radon levels possible. When testing is done, and if your home has a radon level above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), the EPA recommends immediate action toward working out a plan for remediation.

Contact Radon-Rid, LLC To Keep Your Home and Family Safe

For Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we can work together to keep you and your family safe from radon. Radon-Rid, LLC is a fully licensed radon testing and remediation company. Our certified, highly experienced specialists can provide you the testing and remediation your home needs to mitigate radon gas levels and give you peace of mind. For more information or a free consultation,  contact us today.