Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can't see, smell or taste. Its presence in your home can pose a danger to your family's health. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and claims about 20,000 lives annually.
Nebraska has a very high prevalence of radon in homes. One out of every two radon tests conducted in the state is elevated. Homes with an annual average radon level at or above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) should be mitigated to reduce radon levels.
The Nebraska Radon Program recommends all homes be tested for radon as testing is the only way to know the radon level in your home.
In this segment, Matt Loehr, health industrial hygiene specialist with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, joins the show to discuss how testing your home for radon is easy and inexpensive. There are safe, effective ways to reduce radon levels in your home if they are elevated.
Radon: Could Your Home and Family Be at Risk?
Featured Speaker:
Matt Loehr, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
Matt Loehr is a health industrial hygiene specialist with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Transcription:
Radon: Could Your Home and Family Be at Risk?
Melanie Cole (Host): Radon is a cancer causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see smell or taste. It’s presence in your home can pose a danger to your family’s health. The Nebraska Radon Program recommends all home be tested for radon as testing is the only way to know the radon levels in your home. Testing your home for radon is easy and inexpensive. My guest today is Matt Loehr. He’s a health industrial hygiene specialist with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Welcome to the show Matt. So tell listeners what’s radon.
Matt Loehr (Guest): As you had already described, you had most of the basics. It is an odorless, colorless, tasteless, radioactive gas and it’s found in the natural environment. It is a naturally occurring phenomena and what happens is naturally it would go out into the regular atmosphere. You’re constantly exposed to radiation when you’re outside so you’re constantly even exposed to radon when you’re outside. National estimates put that at zero point four picocuries per liter. But inside a household, your house can’t vent the radon gas naturally like it can outside, so the concentrations that exceed an action level that is set by the EPA, which in then turn is a health hazard to the occupant.
Melanie: So how is it a health hazard? What does radon do to us?
Matt: If we know anything about radiation, it’s atoms that occur spontaneously and they effect the natural reproduction of your cells which causes cancer. Radon is radioactive alpha particles that are breaking off the chain. And as those bounce round in your lung tissues they cause lung cancer and that’s the primary health effect of being exposed to radon gas, it causes lung cancer.
Melanie: So how would you know if you have radon in your home? And we hear that when you’re buying a new home, Matt, that you’re supposed to have that radon test and so how would you even know what is the test involved?
Matt: Well there’s a lot of different types of methods of testing, but it can be really cost effective before you even sell your house to test yourself and they’re really simple kits to use. The simplest form is really an envelope that has some charcoal in it and then there’s a sponge that you use or cardboard insert that you use to keep the envelope open. And the air naturally goes through it and then radioactive particles are actually absorbed onto the charcoal and then that’s sent back to a lab which then measures and effectively determines the amount of radiation that went through that envelope during a predetermined amount of time. And so what we tell people is to first start with the short term test, it’s usually two to seven days is the national average and then you can get your initial reading and based on those results you can make some different determinations. And so there are other tests that can be done. If you haven’t tested and you get in a real-estate transaction where the buyer requests the test then that’s going to be used with a continuous radon monitor, which is a digital computer or electronic device that will measure radon on its own and actually have a print out of those readings effective immediately rather than sending it into a lab. So they’re a little more effective when you need a test right away, primarily they’re only used in real-estate transactions.
Melanie: So if you’re not selling or buying a house and you just want to know if you house has radon, then which one of these tests would you recommend somebody doing?
Matt: Sure. The short term test kit is what we would recommend. If you’re in Nebraska, you can go to our webpage just go to the DHHS Nebraska Radon Program home page. And there’s actually a map for free or low cost test kits that some local health departments get grant money to actually give out free or low cost radon test kits. So that’s where I would start first and try to see if you can purchase one through one of those local health departments that have actually accepted that grant. From there if you call them and they don’t have any available or if they’re already ran out, your next most cost effective step would be to then go through one of the national labs that’s also listed on our web page too. A really to use website would be Air Chek Inc. You can order online, it only costs you about ten dollars. They’ll send you the test kit. It comes with really specific directions on how to set it, really easy to do and then you close up the envelope and you send it back and they’ll give you your test results.
Melanie: So what if somebody gets a positive test result? What can be done to lower the levels of radon in their home?
Matt: You don’t necessarily have to mitigate your home. So the action level that you’re going to see coming into is going to be four point zero picocuries per liter. And you don’t necessarily have to mitigate your home to effectively reduce your radon level. If you’re just over four I would say if you’re between four and eight, I mean you can do these things no matter what your radon level is to try and lower it, but you’re going to be doing it in the lowest lived in level of your home. So if you’re doing it in your basement and you have a high radon level over four and you’re trying to figure out a cost effective way to reduce the radon before looking into actually mitigating the house I would first start with do I have a sump pit. And if I have a sump pit in my house I would cock that and seal it tight so air can’t escape from the ground naturally. Then I would also look to make sure that my air registers are all open in the basement. A lot of indoor air quality issues happen when we don’t effectively move air throughout our house. So by opening up those air registers we’re going to get more air movement, reducing radon throughout the home. The next thing I would do if there’s any large cracks in the concrete, if the concrete floor in your basement is visible if you don’t have carpet or flooring over it, you can seal those up as well and making sure that there’s no leaks in your air ducts too, sealing those tight, that way you’re HVAC system is effectively pulling air. That should help reduce your radon levels. What the national recommendation is if you get your radon results back if you’re between four and seven point nine after your first short term test you would then want to do a long term test and you can get those test kits through those labs like Air Chek Inc, Acuvue Labs, and then if you’re eight or higher then you want to look into doing another short term test. Not because the first one wasn’t effective, just to make sure that that’s the right level before you start getting into an action plan to mitigate your house. But doing those five things have known to reduce radon effectively before looking into mitigation.
Melanie: It’s kind of like getting a second opinion and so do you recommend that after people do some of these mitigation techniques and do some of the great suggestions that you’ve given that then they test again to see if they work? How long would they take to notice?
Matt: Right. It should be effective pretty immediately because radon’s half-life is only three point eight
days so it decays really rapidly. So maybe wait four days then retest after you’ve done those things and then if you’re still high you’re most effective way to then reduce your radon level in your house is going to be to mitigate. A mitigation system differs based on the construction of your house. Homeowners in the state of Nebraska can mitigate their house themselves. If they don’t feel confident doing that or if it’s a rental property or something to that effect, we do have licensed companies that can come out and mitigate your house for you and those are also on our webpage.
Melanie: So what can people follow-up with if they have additional questions, where can they go with these follow-up questions?
Matt: Sure. They can call me directly. My direct line is 402-560-5325. They can also email me at matt.loehr@nebraska.gov.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today it’s really great information, so important for listeners to hear. You’re listening to Bryan Health Radio. This is Melanie Cole, thanks so much for listening.
Radon: Could Your Home and Family Be at Risk?
Melanie Cole (Host): Radon is a cancer causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see smell or taste. It’s presence in your home can pose a danger to your family’s health. The Nebraska Radon Program recommends all home be tested for radon as testing is the only way to know the radon levels in your home. Testing your home for radon is easy and inexpensive. My guest today is Matt Loehr. He’s a health industrial hygiene specialist with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Welcome to the show Matt. So tell listeners what’s radon.
Matt Loehr (Guest): As you had already described, you had most of the basics. It is an odorless, colorless, tasteless, radioactive gas and it’s found in the natural environment. It is a naturally occurring phenomena and what happens is naturally it would go out into the regular atmosphere. You’re constantly exposed to radiation when you’re outside so you’re constantly even exposed to radon when you’re outside. National estimates put that at zero point four picocuries per liter. But inside a household, your house can’t vent the radon gas naturally like it can outside, so the concentrations that exceed an action level that is set by the EPA, which in then turn is a health hazard to the occupant.
Melanie: So how is it a health hazard? What does radon do to us?
Matt: If we know anything about radiation, it’s atoms that occur spontaneously and they effect the natural reproduction of your cells which causes cancer. Radon is radioactive alpha particles that are breaking off the chain. And as those bounce round in your lung tissues they cause lung cancer and that’s the primary health effect of being exposed to radon gas, it causes lung cancer.
Melanie: So how would you know if you have radon in your home? And we hear that when you’re buying a new home, Matt, that you’re supposed to have that radon test and so how would you even know what is the test involved?
Matt: Well there’s a lot of different types of methods of testing, but it can be really cost effective before you even sell your house to test yourself and they’re really simple kits to use. The simplest form is really an envelope that has some charcoal in it and then there’s a sponge that you use or cardboard insert that you use to keep the envelope open. And the air naturally goes through it and then radioactive particles are actually absorbed onto the charcoal and then that’s sent back to a lab which then measures and effectively determines the amount of radiation that went through that envelope during a predetermined amount of time. And so what we tell people is to first start with the short term test, it’s usually two to seven days is the national average and then you can get your initial reading and based on those results you can make some different determinations. And so there are other tests that can be done. If you haven’t tested and you get in a real-estate transaction where the buyer requests the test then that’s going to be used with a continuous radon monitor, which is a digital computer or electronic device that will measure radon on its own and actually have a print out of those readings effective immediately rather than sending it into a lab. So they’re a little more effective when you need a test right away, primarily they’re only used in real-estate transactions.
Melanie: So if you’re not selling or buying a house and you just want to know if you house has radon, then which one of these tests would you recommend somebody doing?
Matt: Sure. The short term test kit is what we would recommend. If you’re in Nebraska, you can go to our webpage just go to the DHHS Nebraska Radon Program home page. And there’s actually a map for free or low cost test kits that some local health departments get grant money to actually give out free or low cost radon test kits. So that’s where I would start first and try to see if you can purchase one through one of those local health departments that have actually accepted that grant. From there if you call them and they don’t have any available or if they’re already ran out, your next most cost effective step would be to then go through one of the national labs that’s also listed on our web page too. A really to use website would be Air Chek Inc. You can order online, it only costs you about ten dollars. They’ll send you the test kit. It comes with really specific directions on how to set it, really easy to do and then you close up the envelope and you send it back and they’ll give you your test results.
Melanie: So what if somebody gets a positive test result? What can be done to lower the levels of radon in their home?
Matt: You don’t necessarily have to mitigate your home. So the action level that you’re going to see coming into is going to be four point zero picocuries per liter. And you don’t necessarily have to mitigate your home to effectively reduce your radon level. If you’re just over four I would say if you’re between four and eight, I mean you can do these things no matter what your radon level is to try and lower it, but you’re going to be doing it in the lowest lived in level of your home. So if you’re doing it in your basement and you have a high radon level over four and you’re trying to figure out a cost effective way to reduce the radon before looking into actually mitigating the house I would first start with do I have a sump pit. And if I have a sump pit in my house I would cock that and seal it tight so air can’t escape from the ground naturally. Then I would also look to make sure that my air registers are all open in the basement. A lot of indoor air quality issues happen when we don’t effectively move air throughout our house. So by opening up those air registers we’re going to get more air movement, reducing radon throughout the home. The next thing I would do if there’s any large cracks in the concrete, if the concrete floor in your basement is visible if you don’t have carpet or flooring over it, you can seal those up as well and making sure that there’s no leaks in your air ducts too, sealing those tight, that way you’re HVAC system is effectively pulling air. That should help reduce your radon levels. What the national recommendation is if you get your radon results back if you’re between four and seven point nine after your first short term test you would then want to do a long term test and you can get those test kits through those labs like Air Chek Inc, Acuvue Labs, and then if you’re eight or higher then you want to look into doing another short term test. Not because the first one wasn’t effective, just to make sure that that’s the right level before you start getting into an action plan to mitigate your house. But doing those five things have known to reduce radon effectively before looking into mitigation.
Melanie: It’s kind of like getting a second opinion and so do you recommend that after people do some of these mitigation techniques and do some of the great suggestions that you’ve given that then they test again to see if they work? How long would they take to notice?
Matt: Right. It should be effective pretty immediately because radon’s half-life is only three point eight
days so it decays really rapidly. So maybe wait four days then retest after you’ve done those things and then if you’re still high you’re most effective way to then reduce your radon level in your house is going to be to mitigate. A mitigation system differs based on the construction of your house. Homeowners in the state of Nebraska can mitigate their house themselves. If they don’t feel confident doing that or if it’s a rental property or something to that effect, we do have licensed companies that can come out and mitigate your house for you and those are also on our webpage.
Melanie: So what can people follow-up with if they have additional questions, where can they go with these follow-up questions?
Matt: Sure. They can call me directly. My direct line is 402-560-5325. They can also email me at matt.loehr@nebraska.gov.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today it’s really great information, so important for listeners to hear. You’re listening to Bryan Health Radio. This is Melanie Cole, thanks so much for listening.