Did you ever see radon? Have you ever smelled it? You can’t. That is one of radon’s characteristics. Radon builds up in homes and buildings and, when there is enough of it, it starts to affect the health of those exposed to it. That is the bad news. The good news is that it is not only easy to test, but fairly easy to rid yourself of it as well.
What is Radon?
Radon is nothing more than a chemical element that is radioactive. You can guess that is not a good thing in large quantities. It does not smell and it cannot be see with the naked eye.
Exposure to Radon Causes…
Radon is notorious for causing lung cancer, so much so that radon ranks second on the list of lung cancer triggers in the United States. As many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths can be attributed to radon, according to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency, or US EPA, as well as the Surgeon General’s Office.
Testing for Radon
There are two kinds of radon testing: short term and long term. Both are entirely viable, but long term testing certainly gives you the much better assessment if you have the time and patience to let it run its course.
Short term radon testing lasts as short as two days or as long as 90 days, but by then it will be a long term test; it will give you levels, but not an entire average. Long term radon testing, on the other hand, is 90 days at its shortest testing window, but over for much longer. Long term radon testing gives you the much better average. Hence, why it is the better assessment
Local Radon Mitigation and Abatement
Local radon mitigation and abatement is the “cure” for radon. Now that your home has has its radon testing, let us say you have a high level of radon. Your first step is to get rid of it. But how? Through local radon mitigation and abatement.
Mitigation and abatement might seem similar at first, however, mitigation is reducing something while abatement is removing something entirely.
One of the more successful methods of removing or mitigating radon is through ventilation. Installing a passive system has garnered an impressive reputation for reducing the radon levels in your home by 50 percent or more! Install a few ventilation fans and you can are almost encouraging the radon to leave.
