You want to feel safe in your home, this simply goes without saying. Your home is your refuge after all, your place to get away from it all. But in some cases, there are unseen dangers in the home – unseen dangers that are certainly not to be avoided. For instance, radon in the home is incredibly risky, as it is odorless, tasteless, and unable to be seen with the naked eye.
And it’s far more common than many people would believe. In fact, up to one fifteenths of all homes in the United States alone have what would be considered high and dangerous levels of radon, according to the action level that has been set by the EPA (the Environmental Protection Agency). In some parts of the country, such as on Native American Reservations, these occurrences of high levels are even more common, seen in about one third of all homes.
And high radon levels should be taken quite seriously, as any and all radon testing companies will tell you. High radon is linked to a number of health concerns – namely that of lung cancer. In fact, radon is second in causing lung cancer only behind smoking, leading to as many as twenty thousand deaths from lung cancer over the course of just one single year in the United States alone, let alone elsewhere throughout the world. And dying of lung cancer is certainly not the way that most people want to go.
Lung cancer is often difficult to treat, as it will typically present symptoms only after it has become quite advanced. For many people, diagnosis comes too late for a cure, and treatment is only done in order to extend their lives as much as is possible. For anyone, cancer treatment is likely to be difficult. Chemotherapy and radiation are no walks in the park, and advanced stage lung cancer only compounds the discomfort that cancer patients might feel.
However, lowering rates of radon in homes throughout the United States could have a profoundly positive impact on the lives of many who would have suffered from lung cancer had they been exposed to radon at high levels. In fact, as many as five thousand lives could be saved on a yearly basis if radon levels were lowered in homes throughout the country. This means that a total reduction of as much as four percent would be seen if just radon levels were lowered to meet the EPA action level or, in an ideal world, dip below it.
Fortunately, radon testing companies are more prevalent than ever before, and these radon testing companies can provide efficient tools for radon testing and inspection. Residential radon testing is typically conducted using one of two types of radon detector. The first type of radon detector is the short term radon detector, designed to detect radon levels in the typical home for as many as ninety days. A long term radon detector, on the other hand, will be used for a period of time that exceeds ninety days. The type of test that you need in your home will likely be determined by the radon testing companies themselves once your home has been looked over and your needs determined.
In addition to this, radon mitigation methods are also possible if radon is detected to be in your home at high levels. If there are high levels of radon in your home, your risk can still be lowered with the help of a radon mitigation company. A radon mitigation company will likely take over after the radon testing companies have done their work, and can thoroughly remove radon from your home. Fortunately, however, even passive methods of radon mitigation can be very effective, though they will likely need to be coupled with other, more intensive methods provided by radon mitigation services for optimal radon mitigation effectiveness.
The possibility of radon in your home is a frightening thing, but there is no need to panic. A course of radon testing and radon mitigation services, if needed, can quickly lower your risk from radon exposure back to a normal range, something that is only likely to increase the longer your home is free from dangerous radon levels.