WHAT IS RADON?
WHAT IS RADON GAS?
Radon is an tasteless, odorless, invisible, radioactive gas that occurs naturally in our environment. It can cause damaging health effects, including lung cancer, when it is inhaled for prolonged periods of time.
It is the heaviest gas to have been discovered so far and it continuously emanates from the ground into the air all around us.
WHERE DOES RADON COME FROM?
Radon is an indirect decay product of Uranium, which is present in natural gas, water, rock, and soils.
Radon generates within the soil and travels into a home through its foundation. Pressure variations between a building’s foundation and the soil results in a vacuum-like condition that pulls Radon gas into the home through cracks and small openings in the foundation.
When Radon gas seeps into poorly ventilated buildings, it cannot be diluted. This may result in significant levels of accumulation, presenting potential serious health risks to you and your family.
INSIDE YOUR HOME
Outside in the open, Radon byproducts quickly disperse. inside, it's often a different story. Outdoor concentrations of Radon are typically safe and measure at about 0.4 picoCuries per Liter of air (pCi/L). However, when the Radon enters your house through the basement floor, crawl space, or slab flooring, it can build up inside your home to levels far in excess of that found outdoors.
Without the benefit of wide-open spaces, this gas and the particles that cling to it tend to build up and become more concentrated. Since it’s heavier than the harmless gases in our atmosphere, it sinks to the lowest possible levels of homes and other structures.
In spite of being heavier, it also happens to be smaller than oxygen, hydrogen, helium, and other gases; allowing it to pass through virtually all construction materials. It gets into your home, and eventually into your lungs.
