The "Public Service Announcement" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just picked up my radon kit at Home Depot. A few weeks ago I saw a segment on our local Channel 8 news about radon and the effects it can have on you. Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, occurring naturally as the decay product ofuranium. It is one of the densest substances that remains a gas under normal conditions and is considered to be a health hazard due to its radioactivity. Radon is responsible for the majority of the public exposure toradiation. It is often the single largest contributor to an individual's background radiation dose, and is the most variable from location to location. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as attics, and basements. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking, causing 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States. OK, now what can we do about it? You can buy the test kit as I did and test your house for radon. When you're ready to use the test kit you should close all windows and doors for at least 12 hours before testing and keep them closed as much as possible during the testing. Don't operate fans or operate your fireplace. All you're trying to do is not stir up the air where you place the test units. You can run your heat or air conditioner. Put the units in the lowest livable level in your home. Remove the caps on both the bottles and put them about two feet from the floor and three feet from an outside wall. Put the two bottles 6 inches apart from each other and allow the detectors to remain uncapped for 4 days (96 hours). After the 4 days place the caps back on the bottles, fill out the form provided and place them in the postage paid envelope. It does cost $30 for the lab to process the bottles, but if you have radon and don't know it, the $30 is a bargain price to save your life. If you have adults or children in the house that use the basement frequently, I would do the test. I work constantly in my basement workshop on my stained glass and photos so I'll feel better if I know there is no radon in the basement. Units to remove the radon are not cheap, but not as expensive as you might think. Then again, you'll still be around to pay off the cost of the removal unit! I have known several people who have died of lung cancer and who have never smoked. Made me think that maybe the test is my best choice for prevention of the disease. How about you? It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.