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Taking steps to protect your family from radon
Now is a good time for you to take preventive action to reduce the affects of radon on your family. Testing for radon can be done anytime throughout the year when your home is closed up and you are either running your air conditioner or heating system.
Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless gas that is harmlessly dispersed in outdoor air, but when trapped in buildings, can be harmful at elevated levels. The primary source of high levels of radon in homes is the surrounding soil. Radon has been found in elevated levels in homes in every state, and the U.S. Environmental Protection agency estimates that as many as one in 15 homes across the U.S. have elevated radon levels.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and that it is a serious public health problem. Radon causes between 15,000 and 22,000 lung cancer deaths each year.
Because you can't see or smell radon, people tend to minimize the health effects and ignore the possibility that it might exist in elevated levels in their homes. Testing homes for elevated levels of radon is simple and inexpensive. If discovered, radon problems can be fixed.
The cost of making repairs to reduce radon depends on how your home was built and other factors. Most homes can be fixed for about the same cost as other common home repairs, like painting or having a new hot water heater installed. The average cost for a qualified contractor to lower radon levels in a home is about $1,200, although this can range from $500 to about $2,500.
Date: 10/18/04
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