Environmental Health & Safety
Radon Information
The EPA estimates there are more than 20,000 radon-related lung cancer deaths each year in America. The U.S. Surgeon General issued a national health advisory on radon because of this risk. All Americans are urged to test, and if necessary, fix their homes to reduce their risk. Radon testing is simple and inexpensive, and fixing is affordable. The state radon program, the EPA and its partners urge you to fix your home when your test result shows four picocuries of radon per liter (4 pCi/L) of air, or higher. Because there is no known safe level of radon exposure, you should also consider fixing your home for a radon level between 2-4 pCi/L. Step out on the green side of living healthy-check your home for radon. The life you save might be your own.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States next to smoking and is thought to be the number one cause of lung cancer deaths in non-smokers. You cannot see, taste, or smell radon gas. The only way to know if you have high levels of radon is to TEST your home! Studies have shown that indoor radon levels can vary due to certain types of terrain. Kentucky's geology is characterized by sinkholes, underground streams, and caves created where groundwater has dissolved the sedimentary rock. Where the dissolved rock is on top of a geologic formation high in uranium or radium, radioactive radon gas produced by those formations may move easily into houses and buildings. This is why Warren County, Kentucky, is a Zone One county having higher than average radon levels.
How Radon Gets In1. Cracks in solid floors 2. Construction joints 3. Cracks in walls 4. Gaps in suspended floors 5. Gaps around service pipes 6. Cavities inside walls 7. The water supply |
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