Your home should be a safe haven. It’s where you go to spend time with family, kick up your feet after work and rest your head after a long day. When your house becomes an unwitting host to harmful chemicals, it can be easy to overlook the necessary mitigation steps through your day-to-day obligations and indirectly contribute to a more harmful environment. Radon poisoning and exposure is an extremely harmful occurrence that happens in millions of American homes as we speak, increasing the probability of lung cancer in multiple populations and spreading short-term consequences like breathing problems and asthma. Thankfully, a sump pump installation contractor can not only pinpoint potential radon exposure, but can remove it from your home and surrounding environment.
What Is Radon?
Simply put, radon is a naturally occurring gas that crops up around the world in multiple environments. One of the most common environments is the American home, able to move about undetected due to its colorless and odorless quality. According to the U.S. EPA, nearly one in three homes across multiple states and Indian lands have been recently screened for radon exposure and have revealed they possess levels far beyond the EPA’s recommended action level.
How Harmful Is Radon?
Radon is not to be underestimated. It is a highly damaging chemical that can cause significant short-term and long-term health consequences. Short-term problems include difficulty breathing and chronic chest pain, that of which can easily be attributed to radon if a doctor’s diagnosis doesn’t yield anything biological contributing to the problem. Long-term health problems include lung cancer and related diseases — the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (also known as the U.S. EPA) as well as the Surgeon General’s Office estimated as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths are caused every year by radon.
How Common Is Lung Cancer?
Lung cancer is a chronic issue across the United States, caused by everything from daily habits to constant environmental exposure to harmful elements. The risk of lung cancer has been found to increase by over 16% per 100 Bw/m increase in long-time radon concentration exposure — scientists estimate that lung cancer deaths can be reduced by an impressive 4% simply by lowering radon levels in homes exceeding the EPA’s recommended action level. There are a wide variety of different technologies used to pinpoint and remove radon, from fans to sump pumps.
How Can I Reduce Radon Exposure In My Home?
If you suspect you have radon levels present in your home or simply want to be cautious, a sump pump installation contractor is the one to help. Radon gas testing is done in a variety of ways — short-term testing is done between two to 90 days, while long-term testing exceeds 90 days. A radon mitigation and abatement service will then determine the necessary course of action depending on how much radon is present in your home, with a sump pump installation contractor providing essential resources to gradually flushing this noxious gas out of your house. Passive levels of mitigation have been shown to reduce indoor radon levels by more than half, creating a safer breathing environment for everyone involved. Contact a radon testing service today and see how a sump pump installation contractor can help you.