Illinois resident Gloria Linnertz’s husband, Joe, a nonsmoker, died six weeks after being diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. A radon test after his death revealed he had been living with very high levels of radon for 18 years and didn’t know it.
Radon is an invisible, odorless gas that can seep into various types of structures, including but not limited to basements, slabs and crawl spaces. The only way to know if it is present at dangerous levels is to test for it. Did you know that radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking?
“We didn’t know this silent killer was living with us,” said Linnertz, who founded Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction and helped lead the passage of the Illinois Radon Awareness Act, among other measures. Today, Linnertz works tirelessly to educate the public about the dangers of radon.
Here are some radon safety tips for the home:
Test your home – It’s recommended you use a professional tester, but there are at-home radon kits you can purchase. A small level of radon exposure is considered completely safe. However, the EPA only recommends reducing radon levels in your home if your long-term exposure averages four (4) picocuries per liter (pCI/L) or higher. A pCI is a measure of the rate of radioactive decay of radon gas.
Reduce radon gas in your home – Sealing cracks in floors and walls and increasing ventilation through sub-slab depressurization using pipes is one way to reduce radon in your home. The EPA recommends using a state or nationally certified contractor because lowering high radon levels often requires technical expertise and special skills.
Always test again after the work is finished and then every two years. The EPA has designated January as National Radon Action Month, a time when health agencies across the country urge all Americans to have their homes tested for radon.