If you ask anybody what’s the number one cause of lung cancer is, they would most likely know the answer to your question: smoking. However, you’d most probably hear crickets if you ask people what’s the second leading lung cancer cause. In case you didn’t know, the answer is radon, which is an invisible, radioactive, and odorless gas that could build up inside your home over time.
According to the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, about 1 in 15 homes in the United States have high radon levels, and homeowners usually don’t know about this.
How Does Radon Cause Lung Cancer?
Once you breathe in radon, minute radioactive particles would accumulate into your lungs and eventually lead to damage to your lungs. If you’re exposed to dangerously high radon levels every single day for years, the damage could lead to you developing lung cancer, even if you don’t even smoke cigarettes.
Experts measure the amount of radon through what’s found in the air, and the higher the radon level, and the longer you are exposed to it, the higher your risk of developing lung cancer, warns a licensed radon testing specialist from the Aerolite Group in Utah.
Radon in your home is an immensely severe health hazard because it kills more people than slip and falls home fires, and drowning in the home. It’s likewise vital to note that radon exposure and smoking is a nasty combo because smokers who live in houses with high levels of radon also have increased the risk of lung cancer.
How to Protect Your Home Against Radon
If you have never gotten around to having your house tested for radon, do so now. You could do a DIY radon test using a kit, or call in a professional tester. If test results come back positive for high radon levels, don’t sell your home just yet. Keep in mind that it would take years and years of radon exposure to develop lung cancer. You do however need to take the necessary steps to rid your home of radon as soon as possible.
Contact a contractor with experience in resolving radon problems. Potential fixes usually involve sealing cracks in floors and the basement and using a pipe fitted under your house for drawing the radon out of your house.
