Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. It is a radioactive gas with no odor and no color, which means the only way to find out whether your home has an elevated level is to test for it.
Patten Inspections LLC is licensed by the New Jersey DEP to carry out radon measurement, not only in houses but also in large buildings, multi-family properties and schools. In a New Jersey real estate transaction, a certified radon measurement technician should do the test.
What radon is
Radon forms naturally as uranium in soil and rock breaks down. It moves up through the ground and into buildings, mostly through cracks and gaps in the foundation, and it can even pass through concrete. Once indoors it attaches to dust and other small particles that we breathe in, and as it decays inside the lungs it releases alpha particles that damage tissue.
Radon quick facts
- Everyone is exposed to some radon, because it comes from the earth itself.
- The EPA and the Surgeon General estimate that radon causes more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths a year in the United States.
- Health effects can take years to show up.
- Smokers who are also exposed to radon face a much higher risk.
- The EPA recommends fixing a home at or above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), and considering mitigation between 2 and 4 pCi/L.
- High levels can usually be brought down with a mitigation system once they are found.
What affects your risk
Your risk depends mainly on how much radon is in the home, where you spend most of your time (living and sleeping areas), how much time you spend at home, whether you smoke or have smoked, and whether burning wood, coal or other fuels adds particles to the indoor air for radon to cling to.
