Radon

What is Radon?

Percentage of Radiation Exposure.
Radon accounts for half of all radiation exposure.

Radon makes up about 50% of the radiation we absorb each year. It contributes to the development of multiple cancers. It is believed that radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the US, next to smoking. At least with smoking, you can smell it, taste it, see it, and feel it as you breathe it in.  This is not the case with radon. Radon cannot be seen, tasted, smelled, or felt, but it’s still there, being breathed in and absorbed into your body, creating debilitating and deadly health problem.

Radon is a natural radioactive gas that is formed from decaying uranium. This uranium is commonly found in rocks and soils. Radon moves from the ground upward, so it usually moves into homes and buildings through openings and cracks in walls and floors on ground levels. Radon then generally accumulates inside, which then becomes a health hazard because it is constantly being breathed it in and builds up in the body. Despite whether your home is new, old, has a basement, no basement, or is well insulated and sealed, it is still susceptible to radon.

 

How to Protect Yourself

Radon Map, USA
This map depicts the various radon levels by geographic areas.

Since radon is produced from decaying uranium in soils and rocks, the amount of radon that people are exposed to has a lot to do with where they live. For the most part, radon cannot be avoided. You can get a do-it-yourself radon testing kit from the local hardware store to measure levels in your home or office. The only option for relieving buildings of radon gases is to have an activated soil depressurization (ASD) system installed. An ADS system is basically a vent pipe with an inline centrifugal fan, which operates continuously to blow radon gases out from beneath the house.

Despite whether or not you live in an area where there are severe radon levels, you are still being exposed to these cancer causing gases every day of your life. If you take a dose of zeolite every single day, the radon will be pulled out of you before it has anytime to do any damage to your cells.

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