Radon and Cancer

   It's the invisible gas that seeps up through the cracks in your basement floor from the earth below. It enters through the floor drains and sumps as well as the joints where the wall and the basement floor come together. It comes in through the cracks in the basement walls and floors, as well as the holes in the foundation walls for piping or wiring. It's called Radon gas and the EPA estimates that 15,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States are due to radon exposure, which makes it the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States after smoking.

Although it is harmless outside the home, the gas and its decay products can build up to high levels and when inhaled it can even cause lung cancer.  It is a strange paradox that energy efficient tightly sealed homes are especially vulnerable.  This fact becomes especially dangerous when one considers it takes over 1500 years for only half of the radon atoms in your home to disintegrate.  This means that there is a bigger chance of the gas accumulating rather than dissipating once inside your home.

The EPA suggests that all homes be tested and that you choose either a kit or professional that is certified by either the National Environmental Health Association or the National Radon Safety Board. If you are adding on to your home it is necessary to ask about methods that will lower the radon levels from the contractor.  For example, it is possible to put an airtight membrane under carpets and provide some kind of under slab ventilation. You should also consider covering any exposed floor with a barrier, and making sure that all cracks and fissures in the basement walls are sealed.

Other steps you can take include sealing all cracks and joints in the foundation walls and floors with caulking. As well, you can also install a self-priming drain or gas trap in the floor drains leading to a sump or drainage tiles. Radon can also be removed from wells using activated charcoal filters or aeration units.

However, Radon isn't the only harmful airborne pollutant in you home. As far as lung cancer goes, secondhand smoke and cigarettes and pipes are major offenders as well. Of course, all health care professionals and experts in the field suggest that you ban smoking entirely in your home but that isn't always an expedient move. If, for whatever reason, you need to allow smoking inside, it might be best to create a separate smoking room with its own ventilation system and air seals that will prevent smoke from spreading through your house. If that’s not possible you should try to upgrade your existing ventilation system so that smoke does not spread through your house.

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