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2011 Radon Week Starts October 17th. Ross Aton of Air Quality Control States: "Radon Causes Cancer"
2011 Radon Week Starts October 17th. Ross Aton of Air Quality Control States: "Radon Causes Cancer"
The Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization are jointly asking all Americans to test for the deadly gas in October, which includes National Radon Week. You can learn more at www.RadonWeek.org
Collegeville,
PA,
United States of America
(sardnews.org)
12/09/2011
“The week of October 17th – 24th will be American Radon Testing Week in 2011,” states Ben Ingalls, an Accredited radon mitigation Specialist. Ben’s firm performs radon testing and remediation in homes throughout the greater Denver Colorado area. This week of awareness was prompted by the Federal Radon Action Plan that was launched earlier this year. The U.S. government’s goal of this new initiative is to reduce the occurrences of lung cancer to the American public through awareness, radon testing, and radon mitigation. Recently, Radon gas was named as the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers and the second leading cause overall.
When a person hears about threats to their safety and family, they normally do not associate the home or a school as a place of danger. Homes, schools, businesses and virtually any type of building or structure throughout the United States have a common threat to the safety of its occupants; the culprit is radon. Hearing about this may cause increased anxiety in some people, so what is radon? The simplest answer that can be provided is that radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, heavy gas that is a result of a very natural form of radioactive decay which occurs in the earth’s crust. This tasteless and odorless gas can accumulate in spaces such as holes, caves, homes and anywhere the air flow is restricted. In some circumstances radon can be found in underground water wells due the proximity of decaying radioactive minerals such as naturally occurring uranium.
According to radon specialist Jeff Finken, “radon is considered a chemically stable but dangerous gas.” Recently, it is being identified as a leading cause of lung cancer in humans who have long-term contact with it in their homes where the majority of people congregate for long periods of time. Schools and work environments also fit into the same category as a home because they also fill with radon gases, sometimes in high quantities.
There are precautions that can be taken to protect family and people from radon exposure. One of the first steps a person can take to protect from exposure is to test the home or workplace for the presence of the gas. Detection kits can be easily obtained and will provide you a quick analysis of the presence of radon. Once it has been determined that the gas is present in quantities to be harmful, steps can be taken reverse the problem.
Repairing of the home or workplace by sealing cracks in the foundation, walls, doors and windows are some of the steps that can be used to slow or stop radon from entering. Radon gas can slowly seep into the home through those cracks and collect in the closed air pockets of a home. “Another form of preventive care is to install a proper radon mitigation system that will help evacuate the harmful gas from the enclosed area,” states James Gelina. Mr. Gelina’s radon company (Air Quality Control Agency) installs over 10,000 of these systems each year. Once preventive steps are taken and repairs or upgrades installed, the radon levels in your home or work area should dramatically decrease and in most cases can be nearly eliminated. It is advisable to contact a qualified radon repair technician who will ensure the work is completed properly and safely.
Prior to buying or selling a home, identify the area that the prospective home is located and determine if it is situated near a known hot-spot. If it is determined that the home is located within or near a hot-zone, steps can be immediately taken to mitigate any further risk to one’s health through preventive radon protective measures. However, according to radon specialist Daniel Tompkins, “radon problems have been found in most counties in the United States.” As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization are jointly asking all Americans to test for the deadly gas the week of October 17th-24th, which is National Radon Testing Week in the U.S. You can learn more at http://RadonWeek.org or by calling 1-800-NO-RADON.
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About Accredited Radon Mitigation
The Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization are jointly asking all Americans to test for the deadly gas the week of October 17th-24th, which is National Radon Testing Week in the U.S. You can learn more at http://RadonWeek.org or by calling 1-800-NO-RADON.
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