Lindsay Pasquale
Blog
Radon
Radon is a gas that has no color, odor, or taste, which makes it
very dangerous and hard to identify. It comes from the natural radioactive
breakdown of uranium in the ground. Small amounts of radon in found outdoors
but the two main sources are indoors and in drinking water.
Radon is a natural occurring radioactive gas that can cause cancer.
It can be found in different ways such as drinking water and indoor air. If a
person is exposed to radon in drinking water they have an increased risk of
getting cancer sometime in their lifetime, especially lung cancer. Radon gas
can dissolve an eventually make its way into ground water, such as wells. People
are exposed by showering in the contaminated water, washing dishes, drinking
it, or cooking with it. Radon gets in indoor air by the soil underneath homes,
which happens to be the biggest source. Radon in indoors presents a greater
risk of lung cancer than in drinking water. As uranium breaks down, radon gas
forms and seeps into the house and can build up to high levels. It doesn’t matter
what kind of building it is, it can be anything from a house, school, store, or
restaurant.
This is a major health concern because of the effects on a person’s
body. Radon gas decays into radioactive particles that can then be trapped in a
person’s lungs when they breathe it in. As the particles break down further,
they release into small bursts of energy. This then will damage someone’s lung
tissue and increase the chances of getting lung cancer at some point in their
lifetime. Not everyone exposed to high levels of radon will develop lung cancer,
but people who smoke have a greater chance. According to EPA, radon in air is
the second leading cause of lung cancer, there are about 20,000 deaths a year
in the U.S by breathing radon indoors. I personally do not know anyone who has
died of lung cancer from radon, I find this statistic shocking because of that.
I would think that this is something I would see on the news more often.
If someone’s source of drinking water comes from a river or lake,
also known as surface water, then most radon that could possibly be in that
water is released into the air before reaching their water supplier at home. People
who get their water from underground like a well that pumps water from an
aquifer are more at risk, but it is not guaranteed. EPA has set standards on community
water, levels of radon cannot exceed higher than 4,000 pCi/L, which contributes
about 0.4 pCi/L of radon to the air of a home. There are programs to help
control the levels of radon and it’s called Multimedia Mitigation Programs. The
program encourages people in the public to fix radon in indoor problems and
build homes that keep it from entering in. States that choose not to
participate indoor air programs cannot exceed levels higher than 300
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