What is Radon Gas?

People still ask, “What is radon? ... Why should I be concerned about radon?"

Radon is a form of radiation that can build up in structures—homes, schools, and workplaces—coming from the decay products of uranium in the soil and rocks in the ground beneath the building.

Radioactive alpha particles are released into the air, can be breathed into our lungs, attached to cells in the lining of the lungs, change the DNA of those cells, develop into cancerous cells, and spread throughout our bodies.

Radon gas is invisible, odorless, and tasteless. The only way to detect its presence is to perform a simple test.

High radon levels have been found in every state in our nation. Radon problems do vary from area to area, even house to house. The only way to know the level of radon you are being exposed to is to test.

“Comparative human health-based risk assessment performed by the U.S. EPA  and numerous state agencies have consistently ranked radon among the most important environmental health risks facing the nation. The time for more aggressive action to battle this deadly killer has long passed. In the last half century alone one million people have died from radon exposure in the U.S.”

Dr. Bill Field, Professor of Public Health and member of the World Health Organization’s International Radon Project.

“Residential radon exposure is estimated to be responsible for 16,200-22,700 lung cancer deaths according to the BEIR VI Report calculations. The diversity and consistency of the information from studies of residential radon exposure indicates that the weight of evidence for radon carcinogenicity is overwhelming.”

Jay H. Lubin, Ph.D. Senior Health Scientist, Biostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute of Bethesda, MD.