LungBlog

She didn’t smoke, and she didn’t have a family history of lung cancer.

What she had was prolonged exposure to high levels of the radioactive gas radon. It’s likely that thousands of other Georgians are being exposed, too.

“When you first get the diagnosis, it’s shocking,” said Dobbs, who is 59 and has lived in her Monroe home for 30 years. “You think … where could it possibly come from?”

Radon is an invisible and odorless gas that breaks down from uranium, granite, shale and phosphate and seeps into soil and water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it’s the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and causes up to 14 percent of all lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. That’s about 22,000 people. Georgia leads the Southeast, according to the EPA, with an average of 822 deaths yearly.

The World Health Organization recently published new documentation that links radon gas to more deaths throughout the World than previously estimated. According to the studies, radon causes approximately 15% of all lung cancer deaths making radon the #1 cause of the cancer for non-smokers. Air Quality Control, the nation’s largest radon remediation contractor, encourages the media to help promote awareness of this national health threat.

Why should I think about radon?

Any home can have a radon gas problem. Homes can trap radon inside where it can build up. If you breathe radon in, it can change the cells in your lungs. These changes can increase your chances for getting lung cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that radon causes more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year.

January is “National Radon Action Month.” the Environmental Protection Agency reports 20,000 deaths a year from the odorless gas. Indiana State Department of Health radiation specialist Mary Styker says radon is created naturally underground and can seep into homes.

It’s colorless and odorless. But it could be in your home and causing lung cancer. The invisible threat is radon.

A naturally occurring gas that seeps out of rock and soil, radon can enter houses through the slightest of cracks or openings in the ground level of a structure. Radon alpha particles attach to dust or smoke and when inhaled can penetrate the mucus membranes of the lungs, causing cell damage that can lead to cancer, said Becky Chenhall, one of five radon educators at the University of Georgia.

Although testing for radon is easy and inexpensive, 80 percent of the homes in the U.S. have not been tested. Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that EPA has reported as causing 20,000 lung cancer deaths nationwide every year.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking. January is the best time to test for radon now that doors and windows are all tightly closed. Now is the time to test and if needed, reduce your exposure to radon. That’s why EPA designated January ‘radon action month.’

As part of National Radon Action Month, all Oregonians are urged to test their homes for radon, one of the leading causes of lung cancer in the United States.

“Because you can’t see or smell radon, people tend to downplay the health effects and ignore the possibility that there might be a silent killer in their homes,” says Radon Coordinator Brett Sherry, Oregon Public Health Division.

Radon is an odorless, tasteless gas that causes no immediate health symptoms, but prolonged exposure can lead to lung cancer.

“”It’s the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Smoking is the only one that causes more deaths…there is a website you can go to see the dangers of Radon. Radon is uranium that’s broken down. When it comes into your house, it can come through the cracks in your foundation, it can come through the windows. It can come through any opening in your house it can come through,” said Deputy Fire Chief Tony Miller of the Ottumwa Fire Department.

Radon may not be something that is thought of in the day-to-day maintenance of a home. In fact, it may not be detected until a home is put on the market for sale, and a standard radon test is carried out. When radon levels get too high within a home, they can radically increase the risk of the home’s occupants developing lung cancer. Help prevent this from happening by installing a radon detector, and if needed radon mitigation systems as well.

The township health department is offering radon test kits for $10 as it has designated January as radon action month, in cooperation with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Radon is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in soil and in rock formations. Radon gas moves up into the home through cracks in the foundation and openings around pumps, pipes and drains.