HomeAire » Radon Testing and Awareness

June is Home Safety MonthMake Your Home Safer: Test for Radon

HomeAire Blogging Team — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:30:57 +0000

The Home Safety Council®, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, has declared June “Home Safety Month” and is reminding people to take steps to make their homes safer. The organization, which states that it is “dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year.” According to the Council, the top five leading causes of unintentional home injury death are falls, poisoning, fire/burn, choking/suffocation, and drowning.

Another major danger in the home – one that causes serious injury in lung cells, is radon, which silently hides in your living space, killing about 21,000 Americans each year. Although radon is a cancer-causing environmental hazard and not traditionally considered an injury, radon-related deaths can be avoided, and should be considered when assessing your home for safety.

Observe Home Safety Month by installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and safety devices to protect your children, and take other recommended measures to make yourself and your family safer in your home. And don’t forget to test for radon, the number one cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, and the cause of as many, if not more, home-related deaths than any other single, avoidable cause, including unintentional injuries.

Lung Cancer Victim Speaks Out Against Radon

HomeAire Blogging Team — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:07:08 +0000

After Linda D’Agostino discovered she had lung cancer, she received a second shock: The radon level in her home was 87 pCi/L – well above the 4.0 level at which the U.S. EPA recommends fixing your home. As a result of both of these discoveries, she has become an advocate of home radon testing. See Linda’s story in the WGAL television special “Radon Danger” to learn more.

http://www.wgal.com/video/22595955/index.html

Click Here to Launch Video

Inspections for a Healthy Home

HomeAire Blogging Team — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:24:16 +0000

Before closing on a house, it’s good to know as much about it as possible. That’s why many different kinds of inspections are important. Those inspections can help you make sure the structure is sound and is worth your investment, but they also should tell you that this house can be a healthy place to live.

Houses of a certain age may have lead paint or pipes or asbestos materials. The mere presence of those materials doesn’t necessarily mean they’re dangerous. Inspections for those materials can help you decide whether they need attention and how to live safely with them in your house. Your local Association of Realtors® can help you find qualified inspectors for lead and asbestos.

One inspection that isn’t as obvious is testing for radon gas. It’s invisible, doesn’t smell, and you can’t know it’s there unless you test. Unlike lead and asbestos, it doesn’t matter how old the house is, whether it’s a walk-out basement or slab, or even whether it’s been tested before. Any house can have elevated levels of radon, even in neighborhoods where no other houses have elevated radon.

Radon is the number one cause of lung-cancer in non-smokers. If you smoke, radon makes your risk of lung cancer greater. With the increased use of nuclear medicines and diagnostics, the added radioactive dose of radon increases the risk even more. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set 4 pCi/L (picoCuries per liter of air) as the “action level.” At 4 and above, EPA says you should bring the level down.

In September 2009, the World Health Organization suggested we lower our radon exposure to 2.7 pCi/L. Countries all over the world are beginning to implement this suggestion. If you decide your house should have levels of radon lower than the EPA action level, make sure you work with your Realtor® to specify that in your contract offer.

A straight-forward test can tell you if your house has elevated radon. Certified testers are available and can be found by accessing your state’s radon website or through your Association of Realtors® professional. A nationally trained and certified radon tester is especially important for testing radon during a real estate transaction to ensure the test is properly conducted by an objective third party.

If elevated levels of radon are found, a radon mitigation system can be readily installed, again, by a certified radon mitigation professional [link to Find a Contractor]. A properly installed system can reduce your radon concentration and give you better indoor air quality. Because the system reduces the humidity that enters your home from the ground, you will have a drier, better smelling, more comfortable basement that you and your family can feel comfortable living in.

Including radon testing and other environmental tests in your home purchase agreement can give you the confidence that the home you’re buying will be a healthy place to live and help ensure a sound real estate investment.

Trudy Y. Smith
Spruce Environmental Technologies, Inc.

Note: Even if you’re not buying a new home, it’s important to know whether your home has environmental hazards that might threaten your family. Testing for the deadliest hazard – radon – is easy and inexpensive. All you need is a home radon test kit.

Eddie’s Story

HomeAire Blogging Team — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:32:46 +0000

Radon is the Number 1 cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control, the American Lung Association, and many other health and environmental agencies. But many of the more than 21,000 American lives lost each year due to exposure to deadly radon gas can be saved simply and relatively inexpensively. All we have to do is:

Test our homes for radon
Find a qualified radon mitigation contractor
Fix the radon if the level is above the EPA’s recommended level of 4.0 pCi/L (or the World Health Organization’s recommended level of 2.7 pCi/L)

The EPA, as part of its ongoing efforts to encourage Americans to test their homes for radon and fix them when radon levels are elevated, asked for 30-60 second video submissions with the theme “Radon: Test, Fix, Save a Life.” The winning entry, “Eddie’s Story,” was submitted by Benjamin Schultz and Michael Gentilini. In this video, lung cancer survivor Eddie Metcalf shares his personal story. If you have any doubts about testing your home for radon, listen to and watch Eddie as he relates his own experience.

HomeAire Sister Companies Honored During Lung Cancer Awareness Month

HomeAire Blogging Team — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:58:42 +0000

Did you know that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer? Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year. Radon occurs naturally in the ground and can seep into homes and buildings, negatively impacting your lungs and, ultimately, your life.

The American Lung Association (ALA) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have recognized HomeAire’s sister companies RadonAway and AccuStar as “advocates of the effort to prevent radon-induced lung cancer through risk reduction.” The companies received a “Fight for Air” award from the New England Chapter of the ALA, as well as official recognition from the Massachusetts State Senate, praising their “leadership in providing …equipment to protect the public from radon gas.”

“AccuStar Labs and RadonAway are proud to receive the Fight for Air award from the New England Chapter of the American Lung Association,” said Carolyn Allen, President of AccuStar labs. “We hope this recognition will help extend our call to prevent lung cancer into the medical community. With the help of health care professionals, together we can spread the news that radon testing and mitigation save lives.”

In his acceptance speech, David Hill, VP of Sales and Marketing of Spruce Environmental Technologies, Inc., the parent company of AccuStar, RadonAway and HomeAire said, “I’m humbled to be among tonight’s other honorees. Since I learned about our award, I’ve been thinking about what we might have in common with this very distinguished group of physicians, surgeons and researchers, and now I’ve realized what it is: We perform surgery on houses, fighting lung cancer by removing a carcinogen from people’s homes with our surgical tools – jackhammers, sawzalls and fans.”

Because radon is an odorless, colorless gas, the only way to test for it is with a home radon test kit. If your home tests positive for radon, fear not! Radon remediation and mitigation systems, equipped with radon fans are very effective at reducing or eliminating radon in the home.

WHO Recommends Greater Radon Control

HomeAire Blogging Team — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:53:56 +0000

Radon is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas which often goes undetected. Radon claims an estimated 21,000 lives each year in the United States alone, and is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, according to the EPA. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) drastically reduced its recommendation regarding the amount of radon from natural sources that countries should allow to accumulate in buildings.

Radon occurs naturally and can seep into homes and buildings through cracks, though it is impossible to detect without testing for it by hiring a testing professional or using a home radon test kit. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends that people test their homes for radon every two years.

After conducting studies in Europe, North America, and China, WHO concluded that radon is a significant cause of 3 percent to 14 percent of worldwide lung cancer cases. WHO’s new recommendations are for radon limits in homes to be set at 100 becquerel per cubic meter (the equivalent in the U.S. of 2.7 picocuries per liter), a significant change from the previous limit which was ten times greater.

The WHO’s recommendation is now more closely aligned with recommendations issued by the U.S. EPA, which recommends that you “fix your home if your radon level is confirmed to be 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) or higher.” The EPA also says that “radon levels less than 4 pCi/L still pose a risk, and in many cases may be reduced.” If your home does test high for radon, luckily there are ways to fix it. A radon remediation system with a radon fan is an effective solution that has been used by millions of homeowners to reduce radon in their homes.

Can My Pet Get Radon Poisoning?

HomeAire Blogging Team — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:53:01 +0000

Most of us have heard about the danger of radon in your home. Its effects can be deadly. Long-term exposure to the radioactive gas can be as harmful to your lungs as smoking. But, what about pets? Is your family dog or cat at risk of radon exposure? Here’s what you need to know.

What’s harmful to humans certainly can be harmful to your family pet. They have similar respiratory systems that are vulnerable to toxic exposure.

While research around the harmful effects on pets has been minimal… toxicology experts at Yale and the University of Connecticut Medical School suggest that your dog or cat surely could be in danger. Studies confirm they are affected by food-borne illnesses and lawn chemicals. These important signals are alerting experts that toxic exposures around the home could include radon poisoning.

Meanwhile, researchers studying the effects of radon have identified respiratory tract tumors in dogs, according to the National Cancer Institute. They also report that cancer-causing carcinogens from second-hand smoke cause cancers in pets, which leads experts to believe radon carcinogens might be doing the same.

Finally, keep in mind that if you have elevated levels of radon gas in your home… your pet could actually be at a greater risk than you are, since they are typically living in the home more hours out of the day than you.

While we can’t see it, smell it or taste it… radon may be in your home. And it could be making your pet sick.

Radon in Water?!?

HomeAire Blogging Team — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:23:15 +0000

Radon in the air is a relatively well known phenomenon, but did you know that our other most vital resource, – water – can also be contaminated with radon? In 1996 the U.S. government passed the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments to “establish several new, health-based drinking water regulations, including a multimedia approach to address the public health risks from radon.”

A subsequent report showed the findings of the 1994 assessment to be valid, reconfirming that there are lung cancer risks associated with drinking water. The figures are surprising. Though not as many deaths as are associated with radon in the air (20,000 deaths per year), there are an estimated 186 deaths per year as a result of radon in water. Furthermore, 89% of these deaths are directly linked to, “breathing radon released by water” and 11% are from “stomach cancer caused by drinking radon-containing water”. Though the figures are lower, radon in water is certainly something to be concerned about.

The EPA recommends that you call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 to find out additional information on this topic. Also, if you haven’t yet tested for radon in your home, now is definitely the time to get a home radon test kit.

Radon Resistant New Construction

HomeAire Blogging Team — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:22:13 +0000

With an increasing awareness of the dangers of radon in new buildings, more and more states are adopting Radon Resistant New Construction (RRNC) guidelines. According to the EPA, “All of the techniques and materials (needed during the radon resistant new construction process) are commonly used in home construction. No special skills or materials are required when adding radon-resistant features as a new home is being built.”

To see the full article on how to ensure your home is constructed to avoid radon exposure problems, follow this link.

Basically, the EPA has five materials that builders should use while constructing a home to mitigate radon infiltration. They are: gravel, plastic sheeting/vapor retarder, vent pipe, sealing/ caulking, and a junction box. The costs of meeting Radon Resistant New Construction guidelines are, according to the EPA, “certainly cheaper than radon mitigation after the fact.”

An important caveat to homeowners and buyers, however: Remember that “Radon Resistant” does NOT mean “Radon Proof”. RRNC doesn’t remove radon from a home; it simply prepares a home for the addition of more piping and a radon fan. Once that fan is properly installed and activated by a certified radon professional, then the home – while still not radon proof (there is no such thing) – can be protected from high radon levels. Only with a full, activated radon reduction system can you help to ensure a safe and healthy living environment for you and your family.

Radon Kills 6x More People than Secondhand Smoke!

HomeAire Blogging Team — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:30:45 +0000

Where is the Outrage?

Secondhand smoke is estimated to cause 3,400 lung cancer deaths annually in the U.S. So far, swine flu has killed 4 Americans, and drunk driving kills about 13,000 people each year. Radon is estimated to cause 25,000 U.S. lung cancer deaths annually. Laws protect citizens from secondhand smoke and drunk drivers, and millions of dollars are being spent on swine flu prevention, yet except for a very few states that have radon awareness laws, no one is protecting us from deadly radon gas right in our own homes.

The U.S. EPA, the U.S. Surgeon General, the World Health Organization and many organizations such as the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society acknowledge that the research on radon is sound and compelling. And yet, although most states, municipalities and the federal government do not allow smoking indoors in public buildings, restaurants, ballparks and – in some localities – public parks and beaches, no law exists in the U.S. that requires citizens to protect themselves against radon.

Where is the fear? Where is the outrage? Cigarette packs are required to carry a warning about the dangers of smoking. Where are the labels on homes? Where are the requirements to perform a simple radon test on every home to ensure that it does not have high levels of radon? Would you allow your child to play all day in a smoke-filled room? Any rational person would answer No to that question. But do you know whether your child is playing in a room filled with invisible, odorless radon gas? Most people would also have to answer No to that question.

As of today, four people in the U.S. have tragically died from swine flu, a virus that has caused worldwide fear and provided the impetus for prompt government response. Stores could barely keep up with the sudden increased sales of hand sanitizers. Every day, 68 Americans die as a result of radon exposure in their homes. Where is the fear? Where is the public response? Why are radon test kits not flying off the shelves?

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in 2007, an estimated 12,998 people died in drunk driving related car crashes. Almost twice that number die from exposure to radon in their homes. Why is there no Mothers Against Radon organization demanding action? Possibly because radon does not kill suddenly and dramatically? A radon related death does not make the headlines. It’s a slow, insidious killer.

Why haven’t our government agencies funded by our tax dollars protected homeowners by responding to the magnitude of this threat to America’s health? Agencies tasked with helping low income Americans to live in decent surroundings have ignored or covered up the radon problem while they spend millions and millions on less deadly risks. Radon is the number one environmental killer in the U.S., so don’t you think that the government should do something?

There is an organization, Cancer Survivors Against Radon (CanSAR), that was founded by radon-induced lung cancer victims. Their primary goal is to make the public aware of the effects of radon and to urge them to test their homes. This is a difficult task, made more difficult by apathy at all levels of government and even among some agencies charged with protecting the public from hazards in indoor air. What makes this difficult task even more difficult is that most of its founders have died from their radon-related disease.

CanSAR’s president, Elizabeth Hoffmann, who has never smoked, discovered that she had lung cancer before her 38th birthday – an innocent victim of radon in her home, a killer she was unaware existed. She has spent the last four years crusading for action against radon in statehouses, in Washington and in small towns – all while courageously fighting a disease that is taking her life. Where is the news media? Where are the camera crews? Why isn’t her cause and her courageous battle made public? Certainly not because she hasn’t tried. But no major network morning shows, no major news media outlets at all, have responded to repeated requests from her and her supporters for media coverage.

Are you outraged yet? You should be, because radon-related deaths are preventable. And radon can be found in any home, old or new – even in your home. Even more disturbing is that buyers of new homes might be told that their home has a "passive radon system" or "RRNC" (Radon Resistant New Construction). This does not make a home radon-proof. The only way you can tell whether you are living with radon in your home is to perform a radon test. A home test kit is inexpensive and easy to use, and you will know in little more than a week whether your home has an elevated radon level.

So if you’re outraged, take action.

1. Begin at home.

Test for radon.
If the radon level is 4.0 pCi/L or higher, call a certified radon professional to fix it.
Consider fixing your home if the radon level is above 2 pCi/L.

2. Get involved.

Ask your school officials to include radon education in the curriculum
Call or write to your local and state health departments and demand more programs and action against radon.
Write to your local, state and federal representatives and to President Obama (sample letters) demanding action and legislation now. U.S. radon policy for the past 25 years has been to have the EPA administer a "voluntary" program. It hasn’t worked. More Americans are dying from lung cancer caused by radon than ever before.

It’s obvious we can’t wait for the government to protect us from the health effects of radon, nor can we wait for the media to spearhead a news campaign. We need to act now to protect our families and ourselves.

Pat Everett
HomeAire