How long does radon take to affect you

It can also build up inside buildings. Long-term exposure to high levels of radon can be dangerous to your health. High amounts of radon may be found in the workplace, a school, or any building. Radon can come up through the ground and into your home through cracks in the foundation.

It can also get into your home through well water. Rarely , building materials have been found to release radon into buildings. Radon exposure can happen in any type of home, whether it has a basement, a crawl space, or is built on a slab. About one in every 15 homes is thought to have high levels of radon. The highest concentration of radon tends to be found in the basement or on the first floor.

The only way to know for sure if you have too much radon in your home is to test for it. You can do this on your own without the help of a professional. Some of these tests measure radon for just 2 or 3 days, while others measure up to 90 days.

These tests measure radon levels for more than 90 days. Alpha-track and electret ion chamber detectors are usually used for long-term testing. Either way, the tests are fairly inexpensive and simple to use. You can see a cloud of smoke or haze from very far. You can also recognize the smell from quite a distance. In fact, people found out by chance that radon concentrates in homes and other enclosed areas.

This happened in when a nuclear plant worker in the U. Here you can see what happened:. Thanks to that incident and the further work of scientists we now know radon exposure is harmful. But how or why? Radon is naturally present in nature. What separates radon from other radioactive materials and makes it harmful, however, is that you might be inhaling too much of it, right now, without knowing about it. Public Health Service, there are about atoms of radon in each milliliter of air.

So, in a way, radon is everywhere on Earth, especially around areas with shale or granite. First example — We have night, day, and seasons because of the sun. Everyday the sun sends ultraviolet radiation although we cannot smell it, see it or hear it.

We can feel it, however, as warmth. We even purposefully radiate ourselves to get a tan at the beach or a tanning salon, but we know we have to protect our skin to prevent sunburn or other complications.

Without proper protection, too much ultraviolet radiation from the sun can produce skin cancer. The same happens with radon. Overexposure to radon gas can lead to lung cancer. Unfortunately, unlike skin cancer, there is no lotion or cream that prevents our noses from inhaling too much of this gas. As the radon moves from the water to air, it can be inhaled. Water that comes from deep, underground wells in rock may have higher levels of radon, whereas surface water from lakes or rivers usually has very low radon levels.

For the most part, water does not contribute much to overall exposure to radon. Radon exposure can also occur from some building materials if they are made from radon-containing substances. Almost any building material made from natural substances, including concrete and wallboard, may give off some level of radon.

In most cases these levels are very low, but in a few instances these materials may contribute significantly to radon exposure. Some granite countertops may expose people to different levels of radon. Most health and radiation experts agree that while a small portion of granite countertops might give off increased levels of radon, most countertops give off extremely low levels. According to the EPA, the average indoor radon level is about 1.

People should take action to lower radon levels in the home if the level is 4. The EPA estimates that nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the United States has elevated radon levels. Outdoors, radon generally disperses and does not reach high levels. Average levels of radon outdoors, according to the EPA, are about 0. In the workplace, people working underground, such as some types of miners, are among the most likely to be exposed to high levels of radon.

High death rates from lung problems among miners in some parts of the world were first noted hundreds of years ago, long before people knew what radon was. Studies of radon-exposed miners during the s and s confirmed the link between radon exposure and lung cancer. Higher levels of radon exposure are also more likely for people who work in uranium processing factories or who come in contact with phosphate fertilizers, which may have high levels of radium an element that can break down into radon.

Being exposed to radon for a long period of time can lead to lung cancer. Radon gas in the air breaks down into tiny radioactive elements radon progeny that can lodge in the lining of the lungs, where they can give off radiation. This radiation can damage lung cells and eventually lead to lung cancer. Cigarette smoking is by far the most common cause of lung cancer in the United States, but radon is the second leading cause.

Scientists estimate that about 20, lung cancer deaths per year are related to radon. Exposure to the combination of radon gas and cigarette smoke creates a greater risk for lung cancer than either factor alone.

Most radon-related lung cancers develop in people who smoke. However, radon is also thought to cause a significant number of lung cancer deaths among people who don't smoke in the United States each year. Some studies have suggested that radon exposure may be linked to other types of cancer as well, such as childhood leukemia. But the evidence for such links has been mixed and not nearly as strong as it is for lung cancer. Because radon and its progeny are absorbed mainly by inhaling, and because the radiation they give off travels only a short distance, it is unlikely that radon would affect other tissues in the body.

The evidence that radon causes lung cancer comes from studies in people and studies done in the lab. These studies also show that the overall risk of lung cancer from radon is even higher in people who smoke and people who used to smoke.

Some long term studies of uranium miners have found that they had higher risks of certain other cancers. They may instead be linked to uranium dust or other exposures in the mines. Studies in lab animals have also shown an increased risk of lung cancer with exposure to radon. These studies revealed that breathing in radon and its progeny increases the risk of lung tumors.

The risk is higher if the animal breathes in both cigarette smoke and radon. In some animals, the risk of certain other cancers was also increased. The danger of a destructive spread is acute because lungs are connected to other organs of the body by a complex network of blood vessels.

However, symptoms can be relieved or controlled. Radiation treatment and anticancer drugs to stop the spread of the tumor or destroy cancerous cells could also be recommended. It kills more people than any other cancer, and the numbers seem to be increasing. When a particle damages a cell to make it cancerous, the onset of lung cancer takes at least five years, but often takes 15 to 25 years and even longer.

The decades-long decay of radon and the slow onset of cancer make it impossible to measure the increase in death rates caused by radon in a mobile population. Therefore, most lung cancer studies are based on the thousands of miners exposed to radon or on extensive animal, cellular, and radiological research. Only a few people exposed to radon will develop lung cancer, but the more you're exposed to it, the higher your chances are of developing it.

The outlook for people diagnosed with lung cancer isn't bright, so people need to do all they can to remove all the risk factors. If you do have elevated levels, they will discuss the next step with you, which often involves mitigation. If you're ready to talk to an expert about radon to make sure you aren't at risk of developing lung cancer, contact Radon Eliminator today. Our primary goal at Radon Eliminator is to share the essential information as it relates to radon, its health effects and what you can do to protect yourself and your family.

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