Why You Should Utilize Radon Testing Services

Radon is a huge threat here in the United States. After all, it is quite widespread all throughout the country. As a matter of fact, up to one home out of every 15 homes is impacted by high levels of radon, levels that meet and actually even sometimes exceed the action level that has been set by the environmental protection agency. In as many as seven different states within the United States, these high levels of radon can actually be found in as many as one third of all homes. The same can be said for the homes found on up to three different Native American reservations. It is clear to see that radon exposure is a very real threat indeed here in the United States.

But what, exactly, is this threat of radon exposure? Since radon is virtually impossible to detect without a proper radon testing and mitigation service utilizing the tools needed, it can be hard to understand why radon exposure is something that should be taken so seriously. But it should be. This is due to the fact that high levels of radon exposure can lead to increased risk for developing lung cancer. In fact, for each and every 100 Bq per m of radon of in your home, your risk of developing lung cancer actually increases by as much as a full 16%. And this risk is even more pronounced if you’ve been living in a home with high levels of radon for quite some time, for that matter.

Lung cancer is a serious threat, and one that occurs as a result of radon exposure far more commonly than many people realize. In fact, it causes as many as 20,000 deaths per year here in the United States alone. The Surgeon General of the United States has even now designated it as the second leading cause of lung cancer, second only behind the usage of tobacco products, in the entirety of the country. And when you really look at the facts surrounding radon, it is clear to see why this is the case. After all, the average family will be exposed to up to 35 times the radiation they would be exposed to by standing at the fence of a radioactive waste site all by living in a home with levels of radon meeting the action level set by the EPA. And this level is not even all that high, a mere 4 PCi per l, an amount that is deceptively dangerous indeed. And for those living in homes where the radon levels exceed that EPA action level, the amount of radon that they are exposed to is even higher than that.

But there is hope. Even lowering radon levels back to the EPA action level, not even fully getting rid of them, would reduce lung cancer deaths by at least 2%, if not up to 4%. And this would save as many as 5,000 lives over the course of a single year. But how is this possible? It starts with radon testing and inspection. Radon testing and inspection should really be conducted in every home throughout the country. And radon testing and inspection can be fully conducted by radon testing companies, which are likely to be found in your area. Radon testing and inspection will be conducted with both short and long term tests. Typically, a short term test for the purposes of radon testing and inspection will be utilized, a test that can be used for as little as two days but for as many as 90 days, nearly a full three months. Long term tests can also be used for the purposes of radon testing and inspection and can be effective even far past that 90 day mark.

And if high levels of radon are detected through these radon testing and inspection methods, radon mitigation services can bring them back down. Even passive methods can lower total radon levels by as much as half, and the use of tools like radon ventilation fans can further reduce radon levels within your home. This shows the stark importance of radon testing and inspection methods as well as mitigation.