What Every Homeowner Should Know About the Dangers of Radon Gas
Like most homeowners, you may not even be aware of the risks that radon gas poses to you and your family. This colorless odorless gas seeps into homes and can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer. Regular inspections and radon abatement, if necessary, can eliminate the risks.
Why is radon dangerous?
Radon is a colorless, odorless gas, that seeps into homes from basements and crawl spaces. It occurs naturally and has been detected in homes across the U.S. If it builds up to dangerous levels, it can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer.
Radon is the second leading cause of death due to lung cancer. It is estimated that around one in fifteen homes has dangerous levels of radon. Homeowners cannot afford to ignore the risks to themselves and their families from this silent killer.
How to keep you family safe
Fortunately there are steps you can take to keep your family safe from the risks of radon gas. The first step is radon testing, to find out if there is a problem. Radon inspections should be carried out every two years, by a professional residential radon testing service.
The radon testing contractor will test and monitor the indoor air in your home for the presence of radon. If high levels of radon gas are detected, they will use radon abatement methods to bring it down to safe levels.
What does radon abatement do?
Radon mitigation services bring the level of radon in a home down to safe levels as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA considers it necessary to reduce radon levels when they are at or greater than 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air.
The radon mitigation and abatement service will take several steps to reduce the concentration of radon gas in and around the house. The final step will be to install the radon removal system. The installation can be done internally or externally. Reliable contractors will guarantee their work for as long as 30 years.
Radon gas is known as the silent killer because its presence can be difficult to detect and because most people are unaware of its risks. Radon abatement can help to reduce it to safe levels and keep you and family safe.
