What is radon & why you should measure

Causes of deaths in the USA per year according to the EPA

Radon / 21,000

Drunk Driving / 17,400

Falls in the home / 8,000

Drownings / 3,900

Home fires / 2,800

Radon progeny can attach to dust and other particles and can be inhaled into the lungs. As radon and radon progeny in the air break down, they give off radiation that can damage the DNA inside the body’s cells, says cancer.org.

All our cells contain DNA, which acts as an instruction manual or blueprint for cells on how to create copies of themselves. When an alpha particle hits our DNA it can cause damage to a cell’s blueprint. Cells constantly replicate themselves, but with a broken blueprint the replication process can become cancerous.

Radioactivity takes different forms including alpha, beta, gamma, and neutron radiation, which have different capabilities to penetrate different substances.

Gamma radiation is just high-energetic electromagnetic radiation (photons). We can ‘artificially’ create such high-energy radiation in an X-ray tube, in that case we refer to it as X-rays. X-rays are commonly used in medical scans like those performed in a CT scanner.

The radioactive daughter products of radon (mainly polonium isotopes) can be inhaled and become lodged in the lungs. When these radon daughters decay by emitting alpha particles, these will damage cells due to the close proximity between the decaying isotope and the DNA material. Alpha particles cannot penetrate deeply and are much less damaging if the radioactive material that emits the alpha particle is on the outside of the body (for example on the skin).

The radon concentration within buildings is often much greater than outside. The gas comes from the ground and is captured and contained in our homes, resulting in levels that we seldom find in nature.

Radon rises and can enter a home or workplace through cracks in the foundation, entry points for pipes and more.

Some buildings have a higher radon level in the top floors. This can be due to artificial ventilation, natural updraft, or building materials used.

Yes. Radon levels can be affected by natural sources such as cold weather, wind, pressure and shifting soil—even earthquakes and local construction.

Children’s organs are still developing

Their replicative tissue is more vulnerable to DNA damage.

Children weigh less

Their exposure is greater, as it is measured in concentration per kilogram.

Children breathe faster

They actually respire 2-3 times faster than adults as their lungs are much smaller.

Children have more life left

And thus could live long enough to get cancer from early life radon exposure.

Temperature

Pressure

Humidity

Ventilation

Building insulation

Your home’s foundation

Snowfall

Ice

Rain

Earthquakes

Radon sampling: radon will not be distributed evenly around a room.

Imagine adding a dash of cream to a cup of black coffee but not stirring it. If you then take multiple samples from a small spot of that coffee for the level of cream, you would get very different readings over time as the cream slowly blends in with the coffee. Radon sampling works in the same way.

As a result, Airthings radon sensors give a short-term sample reading as well as an average long-term reading. This is why we recommend allowing your radon detector to measure for at least 30 days, so that the monitor can obtain enough air samples to provide a reliable long-term average.