Radon: A quiet killer

Radon gets little respect as an environmental carcinogen.

Radon is naturally occurring, so there's no “villain.”

With no odor and no color, it lacks “sensory reminders to repetitively stimulate us to think about it,” says a University of Iowa expert on the radioactive gas.

It doesn't get much press, and it takes a long time for cancer to show up.

But exposure to radon is “a ticking bomb that causes lung cancer in tens of thousands of people each year,” said Bill Field, the U of I epidemiology professor who helped write the World Health Organization's Radon Project report.

“Few people realize that protracted radon exposure is our No. 1 environmental cause of cancer mortality,” Field said. “I get many calls each month from people who never smoked and yet have developed lung cancer.”

Among nonsmokers, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It's the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, killing more than 20,000 people a year.

The process that creates radon starts with soil and rocks, all of which contain at least some uranium. As the rocks and soil undergo radioactive decay, radon is formed: Uranium-238 decays to form radium-226, which decays to form radon-222 gas.

The radon moves through the soil and can make its way into houses and buildings through cracks or holes in the foundation.

Nearly one of every 15 homes in the United States is estimated to have elevated radon levels.

There's no “safe” level of radon in a home, the EPA notes, but if air testing indicates levels of 4 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L, a standard measure) or more, it is recommended that a homeowner take steps to reduce radon concentrations.

The entire state of Iowa, the eastern third of Nebraska and a two-county-deep band across most of Nebraska's southern tier are in the EPA's “highest potential” category for radon — areas with a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L.

Initial testing for radon can be cheap. Getting rid of the radon, if necessary, isn't as cheap, but it's not exorbitantly expensive.

A short-term radon test kit can be obtained for $5 in Nebraska and $6 in Iowa.

Sara Morgan, Nebraska's indoor air quality program manager, said that in 2008, the state radon program sold more than 2,100 test kits.

The kit should be placed in the lowest level of the home in which people spend time, and typically is placed about the level of a coffee table surface. After at least 48 hours, the test kit is returned to the state along with information provided by the consumer. The state then will report back with the test results.

Radon levels are highest in homes in winter, Morgan said.

“Really, it's the best time to take action as far as doing a test,” she said. “You're not as liable to have a false low.”

If the initial short-term test yields results of 10 pCi/L or higher, state officials recommend another short-term test to verify the first test's results. If the second test also yields results above 4, radon mitigation is recommended.

The cost of fixing a home generally ranges from $800 to $2,500, the EPA says.

For Larry Pearson of rural Fremont, Neb., it cost about $1,500.

Pearson said he sent away for a kit, did the test, sent it back and got the results: 26, which is very high. He did another test and got a reading of 27.

Pearson said that when he built his house in the mid-1970s, he put in extra insulation and added extra siding. “It was made too well when it comes to radon.”

Pearson said he knew he had to take care of the radon, but he waited about a year, until last February. He called a couple of the radon-mitigation companies on the state list and went with Thrasher Basement Systems out of La Vista.

The worker drilled a hole in the basement floor and ran a pipe out the side of the house. A fan attached to the piping draws the air from under the floor and out the end of the pipe, above the roofline.

A follow-up test showed the radon level in the house had dropped to about 1 pCi/L.

Curt Drew, a licensed radon management and mitigation specialist for Thrasher, said radon levels can vary widely; a house with a low reading can sit next to one with a high reading.

Pearson said he's happy with the way the job turned out. For his peace of mind, though, he said he plans another radon test at the end of the month to make sure his system still is working.

Contact the writer:

444-1109, bob.glissmann@owh.com

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