Why Do You Need Know About Radon?

Radon (chemical symbol Rn) is a naturally occurring radioactive gas found in soils, rock, and water throughout the U.S. It has numerous different isotopes, but radon-220, and -222 are the most common.

Radon causes lung cancer, and is a threat to health because it tends to collect in homes, sometimes to very high concentrations. As a result, radon is the largest source of exposure to naturally occurring radiation.

Health Effects of Radon

Almost all risk from radon comes from breathing air with radon and its decay products. Radon decay products cause lung cancer. The health risk of ingesting radon, in water for example, is dwarfed by the risk of inhaling radon and its decay products. They occur in indoor air or with tobacco smoke.

Alpha radiation directly causes damage to sensitive lung tissue. Most of the radiation dose is not actually from radon itself, though, which is mostly exhaled. It comes from radon's chain of short-lived solid decay products that are inhaled on dust particles and lodge in the airways of the lungs. These radionuclides decay quickly, producing other radionuclides that continue damaging the lung tissue.

There is no safe level of radon--any exposure poses some risk of cancer. In two 1999 reports, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concluded after an exhaustive review that radon in indoor air is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after cigarette smoking. The NAS estimated that 15,000-22,000 Americans die every year from radon-related lung cancer.

When people who smoke are exposed to radon as well, the risk of developing lung cancer is significantly higher than the risk of smoking alone.

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* From the EPA Web Site Regarding Radon

New Hampshire's Environmental Services - Radon Division

Such a significant concern is Radon, that NH has devoted an entire division to monitoring Radon within our state.

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Radon Data:

Below is a sample output that our radon detector can provide you with.