With everything happening in the world around us being shut down and turned upside-down due to Covid-19 infecting our globe, it’s easy to forget about an odorless, colorless gas that seeps from the soil beneath us into our homes and becomes dangerous for us. Because it is so easy to forget, that is exactly why radon testing is so important. Not only for your own safety, but for the safety of those around you who share the same earth.
Radon is a radioactive gas that is produced by decaying uranium and is naturally apparent in almost all soil. Because of this, it’s likely there will always be some level of radon in your home. As long as the levels are low enough, you and your family can go on living your normal lives with no concern for danger.
However, long-term exposure to high radon levels can cause lung cancer, so much so that the EPA has considered radon to be the second leading cause of lung cancer. For this reason, it’s not something you or your family want to take lightly. Should you or someone in your family be a smoker or former smoker, the risk is even higher.
If the results of your radon testing are higher than 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), you should seek professional mitigation services to reduce exposure to the gas. A family whose home has radon levels of 4 pCi/l is exposed to approximately 35 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would allow if that family was standing next to the fence of a radioactive waste site.
Should your radon test results prove to be higher than what the EPA suggests as safe, there are different radon mitigation services that could be provided to you. The easiest way to distinguish how a radon testing contractor may decide to proceed is based entirely upon the foundation of your home.
It may seem like radon testing is a scary and unsure process, but nevertheless, it is critical to maintaining your family’s health, and routine testing should not be shied away from. You can check with your state to easily find certified radon professionals to aid you in reducing the radon levels surrounding your home.
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