RADON: THE SILENT KILLER
BY
JESSICA BACAL
Published May 2005, New York Living Magazine
A close friend was diagnosed recently with lung cancer. A non-smoker, he called me, mystified and shocked, asking how he could have possibly contracted the Smoker's Disease.
While it is unlikely that the exact cause of my friend's lung cancer will be identified, the fact is that the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States is attributed to a gas that can't be seen, smelled, or tasted. There's simply no way of knowing that this colorless, odorless, tasteless and chemically inert radioactive gas is poisoning your lungs unless and until you specifically test for the "Silent Killer": radon.
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that is formed by the natural decay of uranium in rock, soil and water. It moves from beneath the ground into the air, with some radon remaining in ground and some dissolving in underground waters. Radon gas decays into radioactive particles that get trapped in lungs, and as the radon gases break down further, these particles release small bursts of energy that can damage lung tissue and lead to lung cancer.
Most indoor radon comes into the house from the soil or rock beneath it. Because air pressure inside homes is usually lower than the pressure in the soil, the gases are forced through cracks in floors and walls, gaps in suspended floors, joints in construction materials, holes around pipes and wires, and crawl spaces that open directly into the building. Radon can also be dissolved in water, particularly well water, and the radon gas can migrate from the water coming out of the faucet into the air.
While the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") states that any radon exposure carries some risk, the standard is set at 4 picocuries per liter. A picocurie or pCi is a measure of the rate of radioactive decay of radon. One pCi is a one trillionth of a Curie or 2.22 disintegrations per minutes. Thus, at 4 picocuries per liter, there are approximately 12,672 radioactive disintegrations in one liter of air during a 24-hour period. Generally, a test reading of 4 pC/l or less means that the level of radon in the household air is deemed to be at acceptable levels.
Nearly one of out every 15 homes has radon levels the EPA considers to be elevated. However, certain parts of the country are more prone to Radon problems than others. The City of Houston, for example, lies beneath sea level and there are few, if any, basements to be found in most homes, so that radon testing is not normative. In Westchester and Putnam Counties, by contrast, it is standard procedure for prospective purchasers to ask their home inspectors to test for radon. One home may register high radon readings while an immediate neighbor's house may show no signs of radon. In fact, radon levels can fluctuate due to humidity levels as well as outside weather conditions, and it is not unusual for testing to be repeated.
How does one know if there's radon in the house? There's no way to know without testing. The test for radon is relatively simple and not expensive. A test kit can be ordered from the National Safety Council's Radon Hotline (800-767-7236). The test involves leaving an open charcoal canister for 2-4 days in an area of the dwelling most likely to trap radon, such as a crawl space or basement. The canister is then sent to a laboratory for analysis. In the event radon levels are found to be excessively high, it is the homeowner or seller's responsibility to mitigate the problem. Generally, that is accomplished by installing radon mitigation systems, which can range in cost from $500.00 to $5,000.00, depending upon the extent and the nature of the radon problem.
The basic approach to correcting high indoor radon levels is the installation of exhaust fans which remove the gas from below the house foundation before it enters the home. Sealing cracks and other openings in floors and walls is an integral part of any radon reduction program. Sealing not only limits the flow of radon into the home but also reduces the loss of conditioned air so that any other radon reduction techniques in place become more effective and cost efficient.
While radon can enter the home through the water faucet, that is a less common method of radon contamination. When the faucet is turned on, the gas which migrated from the ground into the water escapes into the air. If the home's water system comes from an underground well, it is more likely to harbor radon than water derived from lakes and reservoirs, since radon is usually released from surface waters before entering the distribution system. EPA studies indicate that only 1-2% of indoor radon in air comes from drinking water. However, if radon is found to be present in the home, it may make sense to test the water for radon if the water is supplied by an underground well. If radon is detected, the gas can be removed by aeration treatment or granular activated carbon (GAC) filter treatments.
My fifty-something age friend grew up on Long Island with parents who smoked during his childhood. Was it second hand smoke that caused his cancer? Was it the fact that his childhood was spent in a Zone 1 area, which is the EPA's designation for areas with the greatest potential for elevated indoor radon readings? Did the Westchester County house in which he lived during the past fifteen years contaminate his lungs with radon? My friend, who is undergoing treatment and whose prognosis is guarded but optimistic, may never know the cause of his disease, but every homeowner should know enough about radon to take all necessary and proper precautions of testing indoor air so as to rout from the home any traces of the Silent Killer.