Q: What is #1 Cancer risk in your home? Answer is...

Have you ever wondered, “how on earth did that non-smoker get lung cancer?” The answer may be in the question, the earth part.

The second leading cause of lung cancer is radon gas exposure.

Radon gas naturally occurs in rocks, especially granite, and slowly seeps from the ground into our homes through cracks, holes and pipes. When people breathe in radon, the highly radioactive particles stick to our lungs and can alter the cells which increases a person’s chance of lung cancer.

Every January, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launches National Radon Action Month because during this cold month, many Americans are cooped up in their homes. Radon can also be ‘shut in’ in January.

A simple and inexpensive radon test can improve your family's health because knowing if your home’s radon level is 1, 8 or 150 pCiL could be the first step in decreasing you and your family’s chances for lung cancer.

Radon gas is the #1 cancer risk in your home
Radon gas exposure kills 21,000 Americans a year and 3,000 of those deaths were NON-SMOKERS.

Radon gas is a doozy Class A carcinogenic which means the toxin has been scientifically proven to cause cancer in humans. You don’t want lung cancer; survival rates are the lowest with only 15% of people living more than five years post cancer diagnosis.

Know if you live in a radon hot spot

Most of the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast and even L.A. are radon red zones. Click here to learn if your county is a radon “hot spot”, a red or orange zone. Red zones on average have levels above the EPA action limit of 4 pCiL.

Homeowners in red and orange zones are advised to conduct a 90-day long

term radon test to learn if their home has elevated radon levels. If you smoke and live in a red or orange zone, you’re lung cancer chances are doubled, so test today.

Levels can be different from house to house. According to Michelle Moyer, the EPA’s Radon Program Manager, “One radon hot spot is Reading, Pennsylvania. The EPA found one home’s radon levels were near 1,000 pCi/L while the neighbor’s home had much lower levels. Take the simple test, it costs less than a dinner out to protect your family”

Radon testing is a no-brainer
Testing for radon is simple and cheap. The easiest way is to go online and pay $25 for a long term 90-day test kit (pictured to the right). In 2-5 days a small kit with instructions will arrive in your mailbox. Leave the test kit in your basement or first floor for 90 days, mail it back and in a few days your test results arrive in the mail.

The reason to conduct a long term 90-day test, versus the 3-day test, is that many factors can change radon levels within homes over time: air pressure, weather, open windows and doors and heating systems exchanging the air within homes.

What level of radon is acceptable?
The average U.S. home’s radon gas level is 1.3 pCi/L. The EPA suggests you fix your home if your home’s radon level is 4 pCi/L or greater by installing a radon mitigation system.
Here’s where you have to decide what level is acceptable to your family and their health. Good questions to ask are; does your family “live” in the basement, is your home in a radon hot spot, do you sleep on a lower level, have you lived in your home for many years and finally, do you smoke.

Still thinking radon is no biggie?
Click hereto read the premier radon study called the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study. What’s important is this study focused on women in their homes, not on miners whose radon exposure will obviously be higher. Iowa is a radon hot zone and the study concluded, “cumulative residential radon exposure is a significant risk for lung cancer”.
Even more alarming, according to Dr. Bill Fields, a leading radon expert at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health and one of the study’s authors, “A significant portion of the women who were diagnosed with lung cancer in our study had radon levels LOWER than the EPA action 4.0 level. You don’t mess around with radon exposure.” Check out this video chronicling one family’s story about learning radon’s risks...too late.

Our home was already tested when we bought our house - should I re-test?
More than likely, if your home’s radon level was 4 pCi/L or lower, you’re o.k.

Yet, here are 2 reasons to re-test. First, home sellers tend to open lots of doors prior to selling their home because they’re moving furniture and boxes out of the home; open doors and windows can ‘air out’ radon. Second, it has been reported that some homeowners “air out” their homes prior to resale so they won’t be held responsible for radon remediation.

What if radon levels are higher in my home?
Consider remediating the radon, especially if you are a smoker. Radon remediation systems are passive systems that vent the radon gas from under your home to the outside air. Systems range between $500 to $1,500. Click here to find your State’s radon EPA office.

Consider testing your home to learn if radon gas is seeping in to your living space. A simple test can possibly reduce you and your family’s chances of lung cancer, whether you smoke or don’t.