Can Radon Gas Cause Cancer?

Radon can also come from building materials such as concrete and soil beneath houses. When radon escapes into your home, it becomes an invisible yet dangerous threat to you and your family’s health.

Signs of Radon Existence in Your House

To prevent your family from the effects of radon, you need to understand different signs of exposure. Some of these may include, odor or taste changes in your home’s air (musty, metallic), and water damage on walls from seepage under a slab foundation or cracks in the foundation. Doors or windows may also not open easily because they are swollen by water vapor. You may also see black stains on the basement floor near furnace vents, mold growing inside walls, and cracked tiles around the furnace vent area.

Radon and Its Relation to Cancer

Radon is a natural by-product of uranium in our environment and it has been estimated to cause 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States alone. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified radon as an “asbestos-like” carcinogen because of its ability to cause such serious health problems. It is important for anyone who lives in a home with elevated levels of radon gas to take steps to determine if their family members are being exposed and at risk for developing this type of cancer.

Radiation exposure can lead to cancer because cells may be damaged when they divide if there has been too much radiation absorbed during cell division. This means we should always try our best to limit how much radiation we absorb to prevent cancer cases caused by exposure to radon.

Signs of Radon Exposure

If you suspect that radon exists in your house and have symptoms such as headaches, shortness of breath, coughing up blood or mucus, chest pain, wheezing or whistling sounds when breathing out, or swollen lymph nodes under your chin or neck, it could mean that you are exposed to radon. If you have these symptoms, you should seek medical attention right away.

Testing For Radon Exposure

The best way to prevent the effects of radon is by testing your home for its presence and taking steps to reduce any elevated levels if they are present.

Finding out if your home has radon levels high enough to pose a risk is easy with an inexpensive test kit available at most hardware stores. You may also reach out to experts to do the testing for you.

Radon Remediation

If the test shows elevated levels of radon, you need professional help from experts who will install mitigation systems as soon as possible because even low doses of this dangerous gas are unsafe.

There is a variety of methods to do so, and each has its own pros and cons. The most common method is sub-slab depressurization (SSD), which involves drilling holes in the floor beneath areas with high concentrations of radon gas and installing pipes that release pressure from under the house. Another option is sealing cracks in floors or walls where radon can enter through, which can be done by using caulking or insulation. Radon mitigation systems reduce levels of radon inside homes by sucking it out through ventilation fans before releasing it outside into the atmosphere.

As previously mentioned, radon is a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. Signs of radon existence in your house include bubbling paint, cracking plaster, and dust accumulation on the floor or ceiling near the basement. If you suspect you have high levels of radon in your home, you should do a test and ensure it is removed as soon as possible. Radon testing kits can be purchased at a hardware store or online without having to leave your house. If you do find high levels of this toxic gas in your home, call an expert who can help fix the problem right away.