The Importance Of Radon Testing

A home is a shelter, a safe space. Your home is where you want to go to get away from the world. Your home is your sanctuary. But nearly one in fifteen homes in the United States alone has an estimated radon level at or above what is considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Because radon is odorless, it can be a hidden danger in your home, one that can have significant consequences. Fortunately, local radon mitigation and abatement services can help you to rid your home of radon as well as prevent it from building up again. Local radon mitigation and abatement services are often able to send a radon testing contractor to your home, who will then be able to perform the necessary radon gas testing. Radon in your home is a serious problem, but radon testing and abatement are possible, and local radon mitigation services are there to help.

It is important, however, to take the possible presence of radon in your home seriously. Radon has been linked to a number of health conditions, lung cancer being the most prevalent and severe. In fact, the EPA as well as the Surgeon General have determined that there could be as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year that are directly linked to radon exposure. Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer and lung cancer deaths in the United States today, second only after cigarette exposure. If radon exposure is detected and then prevented, lung cancer deaths are predicted to drop by as much as 4%. This means that an astounding 5,000 deaths could be prevented – countless lives saved.

There are two different types of radon detection tests that local radon mitigation and abatement companies will perform in your home. The first is a short term test, and the detector will measure radon levels in your home for anywhere from two to ninety days. After this length of time, a long term radon detector can continue to measure radon levels in homes where recurrence is possible or probable. There are also steps that any home owner can undertake as well. These are referred to as passive methods of radon abatement and include opening windows regularly and, more importantly, adding radon ventilation fans. Even these passive methods have been proven able to reduce radon levels by up to 50%.

Radon in your home is a serious matter, but testing for radon can help to identify if there is a threat. Once a threat has been identified, radon abatement measures are able to be taken. Local radon mitigation and abatement companies can provide their services, lending expertise and the utmost of safety to the radon abatement process in your home.