If you are anything like me you have heard the word radon and just assume that you are safe from it, right? Well EPA has marked January as Radon Action Month for a good reason. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is the leading cause of lung cancer (in non-smokers). The thing with radon is you can’t see it, taste it or smell it. So how on earth do we know if it’s present in our homes? EPA states that we should all have our houses tested for radon. There are contractors that can test for radon listed on EPAs web site using the link above. Another option is to self test your house with an easy home test kit. The National Safety Council (NSC) sells low cost home kits for as low as $9.95. The sell 2 kits on their web site; one is a short term test kit and the other is a long term test kit. EPA recommends that you use the short term test kit if you have never tested your home before; this test runs from 2-6 days. Then if your test results indicate radon levels then you can test it further with the long term test kit; this test runs for more than 90 days. On EPAs web site there is a map of the U.S. and what the typical radon levels are by State and County. Where I live there is low potential for radon; however just one county over (Hillsborough County, FL) there is moderate potential for radon. If you are reading this and live near me I would definately recommend purchasing one of the test kits (which should also be available at your home improvement stores) for your home. Check the EPA map for your State and County and see what the levels are near you; you might be surprized. I’m glad that EPA and NSC have dedicated January as Radon Action Month; I certainly learned more about radon. Let me know if you conduct a radon test in your home; I’ll share my results when they come in.
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