We are approaching the end of National Radon Action Month but there are several resources that one can use to learn more about radon. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has a section on their website that shows radon zones in the U.S and many more resources with useful information. Radon is found throughout California and each section has different levels of radon and checking your home for radon varies. You may check your radon levels by zip code as well. Since radon is found in every state and in this case anywhere in California, whether you live in California or anywhere else in the country, it is important to test your home for radon.
When uranium and radium decays it causes radon to be produced. This most commonly happens with granite. The gas can enter the home through cracks in the foundation, water lines, and other small entrances. Even if you think your home is free of radon could be sneaking into your home and causing more harm than you might imagine. And since, radon can seep through cracks and water lines in a home, any home is at risk of high levels of radon. An alarming fact by superiorwaterandair.com states, “14% of the 300,000 Annual Lung Cancer Cases in the US are attributable to radon.”
As a result, The California Department of Public Health and the Radon Program is offering short term test kits. It is never too late to test for radon and this time of the year is the best time to test for radon because we tend to keep our homes sealed more than during the summer. Radon levels tend to build up during indoors. There are so many resources from interactive radon zone maps to webinars to successful stories of radon action events that took place in previous years.