What Is Radon Gas?

Learn The Facts -- Radon May Be Contaminating Your Home!

As a company of radon mitigation experts, Maine Radon & Environmental is committed to educating our customers about the connection between lung cancer and radon gas. It's important to note that radon levels can be reduced to safe levels. We want to help you make that happen!

As certified members of the National Radon Defense network of radon mitigation experts, Maine Radon & Environmental provides homeowners throughout Maine with customized solutions for achieving safer levels of radon within residential buildings.

Contact us today for more information about radon testing and our radon reduction services.

What is Radon?

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that has become the second-leading cause of lung cancer -- second only to cigarette smoke.

Most soils contain uranium that, over time, decays to produce radium and polonium. Eventually, polonium is released with the radon, which creates a high toxicity level in the air and water that it infuses. Perhaps some homeowners are thinking they could recognize high levels of radon in their home. Unfortunately, radon is completely undetectable with any human senses.

We cannot smell, taste, see, touch, or hear radon. Thus, it easily goes unnoticed. When this happens, everyone in the home becomes susceptible to contracting lung cancer. There are also very limited lung cancer symptoms. Even at that, they tend to lie dormant until becoming more severe.

Radon Exposure & Lung Cancer

Regular testing will help limit the risk of dangerous exposure to radon in your home.

Lung cancer is responsible for killing more Americans annually than the other top cancers combined. And because it's often considered a "self-induced" disease, it also tends to be the least funded.

However, the World Health Organization reports that radon causes 15% of the world's lung cancer cases, leading to the deaths of 20,000 Americans annually.

For those 20,000 people who do not have lung cancer due to tobacco smoke, this is far from self-induced!

Radon induced lung cancer kills one person every 25 minutes, joining arsenic, asbestos and benzene as a Class-A Carcinogen.

Cigarette Smoke and Radon

While the effects of smoking cigarettes are far more recognizable when compared to the effects of radon exposure, there is very little separating the severity of these two causes of lung cancer. How can smoking cigarettes be compared to radon exposure? Check this out!

1 pCi/L of radon is equal to 2.5 cigarettes a day! Multiply a home's radon levels by 2.5 and understand that any homeowner could easily experience the effects of smoking a "pack a day" if the radon levels are at 4.0 pCi/L-- the minimum action level established by the Environmental Protection Agency.

X-ray Radon

The amount of radiation in 4.0 pCi/L of radon is actually equivalent to the radiation in 100 chest X-rays. Sure, that seems like a lot, but this gets worse. Most hospitals actually only allow patients to have four chest X-rays each year.

Let's do the math. That converts to the equivalent of .16 pCi/L per X-ray and .64 pCi/L of radiation a year with four X-rays. In other words, radon mitigation is crucial to the overall health of any homeowner in Maine

What To Do If Your Home Has Unsafe Radon Levels

If you don't know what your home's radon levels are, it's important to have the space tested right away. Radon gas is odorless, tasteless in water, and invisible. Levels can vary from one home to the next, so even if your neighbor has safe levels, your health may be in danger.

If testing shows that your home's radon levels are indeed higher than the recommended safe level (4 pCi/L), you should consider installing a radon mitigation system. Here at Maine Radon & Environmental, our experts offer free quotes for a customized system, so there's no risk in learning more. If your budget is limited but you'd like your home environment to be healthy as soon as possible, be sure to ask us about our financing options.

Contact us by phone or e-mail today for a cost quote for radon testing or a mitigation system quote! We proudly serve the Maine area, including Portland, Windham, Brunswick and surrounding regions including Lewiston, Scarborough, Auburn, South Portland, Saco, Westbrook, Biddeford.

Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.