Radon Gas Awareness: Health Risks · EPA Guide (PDF)
Home Test Kits · RadonNewJersey.com (1-800-667-2366)
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Radon is a natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell, or taste. It comes from the natural breakdown of radioactive uranium in soil, rock or water and gets into the air you breathe.
Radon can be found all over the U.S. and can get into any type of building — homes, offices, schools. It is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year: when you breathe air containing radon, you can get lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths in the United States today.
Radon typically moves up through the ground and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Your home traps radon inside, where it can build up. Any home may have a radon problem–new or old, well-sealed or drafty, with or without basements.
If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.
The only way to know if you have a radon problem is to test. Home test kits can be purchased at home improvement stores, or you can order a home test kit through the National Radon Program Services at Kansas State University. You can or hire a state-approved qualified tester, recommended if you are buying or selling a home.
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that homeowners use a qualified and experienced radon mitigation contractor to repair radon problem. A quality radon mitigation contractor will take the time to evaluate your specific home and your specific circumstances.
Radon is a serious problem in many parts of the country, and fixing it is a specialty in itself. Hiring someone who installed garage doors last week and will be cleaning a pool next week is probably not the best way to go.
Every radon problem is different, and that is why the specialized expertise of a radon mitigation contractor is so important. That expert will be able to tell exactly how the radon got into your home in the first place, and exactly what it will take to get rid of it and stop new contamination from happening.
Radon New Jersey services the entire state and is part of SWAT Environmental, America’s leading radon mitigation service.