Radon gas is a naturally-occurring byproduct of the radioactive decay of Uranium in the soil. Depending on your geographic location , the radon levels of the air you breathe outside of your home may be as high as 0. The national average of outside radon levels is 0. Your risk of lung cancer increases substantially with exposure to higher radon levels.
World Health Organization, studies show that radon is the primary cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked. However, the absolute numbers of radon-induced lung cancers are much larger in people who smoke, or who have smoked in the past, due to a strong combined effect of smoking and radon.
Radon Act 51 passed by Congress set the natural outdoor level of radon gas 0. Unfortunately two-thirds of all homes exceed this level. At or above this level of radon, the EPA recommends you take corrective measures to reduce your exposure to radon gas. Hearing the news of her cancer diagnosis was devastating. Malmberg had experienced the later symptoms of lung cancer. Exposure to the combination of both radon gas and cigarettes causes a greater risk of lung cancer than exposure to each factor by themselves.
Although most radon-related cancer deaths occur in smokers, more than 10 percent of radon related deaths occur in nonsmokers. Short-term tests can measure radon between 2 days and 90 days depending on the device used. To test in the short-term setting, you need to keep your windows and doors closed as much as possible to get an accurate measure of radon exposure.
As radon levels vary from day-to-day, long-term testing is recommended to get an accurate prediction of average radon exposure. Younger women are getting lung cancer more often than younger men. In order to save more lives with early lung cancer screening, more smokers will have to show up and get tested. One health center is trying to make…. The immunotherapy drug has been successful in treating other cancers and the latest trials provide hope for people battling lung cancer.
There are more than different types of arthritis. Read about splinting and our roundup of options to help you find the best thumb brace for you. DISH disease is form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine. The most common method is to have a vent pipe system and fan installed, which pulls radon from beneath the house and vents it to the outside. It is also possible for radon to enter your home through your water supply, though this poses a much lower risk than when it comes through the soil.
If you have a private well, you can have it tested for radon. If the levels are high, you can have the water supply treated so that the radon is removed before it enters your home. If you are concerned about radon and your water comes from a public water supply, you should contact your supplier.
As with most home repairs, the cost of reducing radon in your home can vary widely, depending on how your home is built whether you have a basement, crawlspace, or neither and what kind of system you need. There are no widely available medical tests to measure whether you have been exposed to radon. But if you think that you might have been, talk with your doctor about whether you should get regular health checkups and tests to look for possible signs of lung cancer.
Possible symptoms include shortness of breath difficulty breathing , a new or worsening cough, pain or tightness in the chest, hoarseness, or trouble swallowing. The combination of cigarette smoking and radon exposure raises the risk of lung cancer more than either smoking or radon exposure alone. For some people exposed to radon through their jobs, like uranium miners, millers and transporters, the US government has established the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program.
It offers compensation for lung cancer and some other lung diseases to people who qualify. The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team.
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