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The Truth About Radon
Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas found in all homes, whether
they have a basement, crawlspace, or slab foundation. It is a natural discharge from the decay of uranium in the soil and
enters a home in many ways, not all of which are visible or predictable.
Although it surprises many people, homes next door to each other can have
dramatically different radon levels due to many factors - among them are the HVAC pressure and configuration,
the orientation of the home's eaves to prevailing winds, and the geology of the soil directly beneath the home.
Although soil structure may seem uniform at the surface, it isn't, and down a few hundred feet things are substantially different.
Radon is a Class A carcinogen and the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. According to
the US EPA, radon is responsible for more than 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the US each year. There is no confirmed link between
radon exposure and any other health ailment, but there are studies being done that may show a link to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases as well.
About 38% of the homes tested around Chicagoland will test at or above the US EPA Action Level
of 4.0 picoCuries per liter (pCi/l). The radiation exposure level of 4.0 pCi/l is the equivalent of smoking approximately 127 packs of
cigarettes a year, or having more than 200 chest x-rays in a year. Some parts of the Chicagoland area do show a higher potential for
elevated levels on average than others, but all towns have homes with high radon levels.
The only way to know the radon level in any given home is to perform a test, and homes
need to be retested every two years to make sure that the levels haven't fluctuated due to normal changes that occur in the
home as it ages, or due to repairs or replacements made to the home.
