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Radon testing
Question: I am a new home owner. A friend suggested that I have my home tested for radon, but I don't know anything about it. Can you advise me on radon and on how to get my home tested?
Answer: Radon is naturally occurring, odorless, and colorless gas produced by the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water. Because radon is a gas, it can enter buildings through openings or cracks in the foundation. The radon gas itself decays into radioactive solids, called radon daughters. The radon daughters attach to dust particles in the air, and can be inhaled. The inhalation of radon daughters has been linked to lung cancer.
You can get radon detection devices at many hardware and home improvement stores, or by contacting the EPA's National Radon Hotline (1-800-SOS-RADON). These devices are left in the home for 2 to 90 days, and indicate whether there might be a radon problem in the home. If results indicate that your home has a level exceeding 4 picocuries (pC/L), you will want to test your home again with the short, 2 to 90 day test and then calculate the average of the two tests, or test your home with an alpha track detector, which measures the long term radon average for three to twelve months. If the radon level in your home exceeds 4 pC/L, there are several techniques available to the lower levels.
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