How to Remove the Unseen Predator Radon Poisoning and Radon Facts

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We as humans may not pay attention to the air we breath very closely. Hopefully my other article will help you to increase your attention to that, so you can increase the quality of the air that your breathing. Paying attention to this is important, but theres another lurking monster that we need to know about. Radon!

Radon is an element that seeps into our dwelling place unknowingly. Sometimes when its realized it is to late to do anything about it. At least for the person infected by it. This element is very deadly and is a silent predator. I will expose this predator to you in this article.

Get The Radon Facts

Here are what I'll touch on to help you become more aware:

What is Radon

Radon levels

Radon Poisoning

Radon Testing

How to Remove Radon

Radon in homes was discovered to be a major cause of cancer in those affected by it. The Surgeon General has determined that radon in homes to be the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S today. I think this is worth paying attention to, don't you? Let's take a look at what radon is.

What is Radon:

Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas. You cannot see, smell or taste radon. If you're a smoker and you have this gas in your home at a high level, you're at a higher risk of radon poisoning. Your risk for lung cancer goes way up at this point.

Radon is a naturally occurring gas that comes from the breakdown of Uranium in the earth. Also well water has been thought to be a source of radon gas.

Radon was first discovered by English physicist Ernest Rutherford in 1899. This discovery is also credited to German physicist Friedrich Ernst Dorn in 1900. Ernest Rutherford found radon's alpha radiation, and Friedrich Dorn discovered that radon was releasing a gas from the ground.

Radon Levels:

The primary infection from radon gas comes in the air that you breath in your home. Radon seeps through up from the ground into our living space. As mentioned before this gas is believed to be concentrated in ground water as well.

If you have a sump pump in your basement or crawl space you'll want to pay special attention to this. As the sump pump hole leads directly to the earth under your foundation. We will talk about remedies for this later on.

Now, of course the levels of radon gas will be higher in confined air spaces such as in mines and buildings. Radon levels can be extremely higher in places like tunnels, power stations, caves, public baths, and spas as well. The concentration in homes are generally lower than these places.

But in my opinion any level of radiation gas is important to pay attention to.

Radon Poisoning

A family whose home has radon levels of 4 pCi/l is exposed to approximately 35 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would allow if that family was standing next to the fence of a radioactive waste site. (25 mrem limit, 800 mrem exposure)

There is no acceptable level of radiation in your home. Any radioactivity of any level should be eliminated as soon as possible. Radon gas is a known carcinogen (cancer causing) agent. A deadly predator at any level.

Radon Testing:

Testing your home is the only way you'll ever know how high, if at all, the levels are in your dwelling. Since there are no immediate symptoms of exposure to it, radon exposure takes place over many years. Fortunately testing for radon is fairly inexpensive and can be done by most anyone.

Simply purchase a testing kit for that purpose. At the end of the article I'll give you a couple links to a test kit where you can get one.

How to Remove Radon:

There are 2 primary ways to remove radon from your dwelling. And they're easy to implement. Those are:

Seal all cracks in your foundation.

Increase ventilation of outside air into your home.

As to number 2 here you can also think about adding an exhaust fan into one of your basement windows. This will help to remove the gas and keep the air flowing in your basement. Basically what you want to accomplish is the mixing of the outside air with the inside.

By keeping the air moving and replenishing it with outdoor air will significantly bring down the radon levels in your home. This is assuming you have ran the test and you show a high concentration of it in your home. Of course if your level tests 0, then you're good as gold!

The Conclusion

Let's face it folks, any level of any poisonous gas in your home needs to be looked at in serious terms. Especially one you can't see, taste or smell. Like carbon monoxide in a sense, can kill you albeit much quicker, radon poisoning is no predator to play with.

My hope in this article is to light a little fire under your rear end, and get you to test for this gas, for the safety of you and your family. Life is too precious and you only have one go around at it, to have it sucked out of you unknowingly by an unseen predator called radon.