Darien Health Officials Recommend Testing Home For Radon

DARIEN, CT — With Darien families spending more time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, the town's Health Department is urging residents to test their homes for radon gas in January during National Radon Action Month.

Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas that is found throughout the United State. Most of the time, it is harmlessly dispersed in outdoor air, but it can reach harmful levels when trapped in buildings, according to officials.

"Exposure to elevated levels of radon has been shown to cause lung damage and cancer in humans," officials said in a statement. "In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that radon is responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after smoking and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers."

The only way to know if there is an elevated radon level in a home is to test the indoor air. Testing homes for elevated levels of radon is simple and inexpensive. Radon test kits can be purchased through the American Lung Association (see below) or at home improvement stores for under $25. When discovered, radon problems can be fixed by qualified contractors at a reasonable cost by the installation of ventilation systems, sealing entry routes for radon gas and/or installing sub-slab depressurization systems to reduce radon levels.

Radon gas is drawn into a house through foundation cracks and openings, such as sump pump pits and plumbing features. The lower levels of your home tend to have the highest levels of radon and pose the highest risk. Radon levels vary seasonally and tend to be higher in the winter months. The best time to test for radon is during the winter when the home is closed up and the furnace is running. The US EPA recommends that homes with radon levels at 4 or more picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air have mitigation systems installed. Even if the radon test result is below 4 pCi/L, additional testing should be done at some point in the future, especially if occupying the lower level of your home, or planning a renovation, such as converting an unfinished basement
area into living space.

For more information, please visit the CT DPH Radon Program website for links to the resources mentioned in this publication:
https://portal.ct.gov/dph/Environmental-Health/Radon/Radon-Program

US Environmental Protection Agency -
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-12/documents/2016_a_citizens_guide_to_radon.pdf

https://www.epa.gov/radon/find-radon-test-kit-or-measurement-and-mitigation-professional