Date Published: 02/04/2020 [Source]
Officials with the Maryland Department of Environment are currently conducting a push to make people aware that they can test for radon and mitigate the problem. The MDE's effort began in January, which is National Radon Action Month.
Radon is a chemical element that is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas. In other words, you can't see, smell or taste its presence. The gas, which is easily inhaled, is a health hazard.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the top two causes of lung cancer are smoking and secondary smoke exposure and radon. Other contributors include asbestos, family history and air pollution.
Radon decays quickly, but it can accumulate in homes and buildings in low areas such as basements and crawl spaces.
Mark Shaffer and Tishara Stewart of the Maryland Department of the Environment recently held a meeting on radon at the Allegany County Health Department on Willowbrook Road and invited the Times-News. The purpose of the meeting was to meet Erin McCagh Morrissey, a 1976 graduate of Bishop Walsh High School, and lung cancer survivor, to hear about her experience with radon.
"I was diagnosed with lung cancer in October of 2011," said Morrissey. "I didn't really think about it right away; I had to have surgery and treatment (chemotherapy and radiation), but as time passed I began to think about it. I was told the two leading causes of lung cancer are smoking and radon. I've never smoked a cigarette a day in my life. When they told me I had stage three non small cell lung cancer ... I said right away, 'You must have someone else's chart because I've never smoked.' I knew secondhand smoke was bad for you but I didn't even know about radon."
"It came back to me; our very first house that we lived in in 1985 in Silver Spring, that my husband and I bought, we didn't test (for radon) ... no one suggested testing then," said Morrissey. "Our second home we built in Hagerstown (1991), I remember we did test. It was above the acceptable level for the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) standards which it should not be over 4."
The concentration of radon gas is not measured directly, but rather by the radioactivity it produces. It is expressed in picoCuries per liter of air. The EPA says a score of 4 (pCi/L) or higher requires mitigation.
"We didn't do (any mitigation) to our (home) we built in Hagerstown; we were young and our kids were young and we were having too much fun to do that."
In 2000, the Morrisseys decided to build a home in Adamstown, Frederick County, and move there.
"I remember sitting at the settlement table with the builder and we are passing papers around and my husband and I are signing at settlement ... and we got to one paper, I said, 'wait, what did you say this was?'"
Morrissey was told they were "acknowledging the fact that you are aware that the radon level is above acceptable level in your new home. I said, 'wait a minute, that doesn't sound right.' Meanwhile, our moving trucks were in our cul-de-sac waiting to unload into our beautiful new home. When I told him, 'no, that has to be taken care of' ... (the builder) looked at me disgustedly and said, 'if we are to do that it will probably hold your settlement up about three months.'"
Morrissey said she learned later that was not correct. A radon expert typically arrives within two weeks.
"We did (test) in the house in Adamstown after my diagnosis, which we should have done immediately," said Morrissey. "The radon level in that house was between 11 and 12. We had the mitigation done there and sold it in 2015. But, I'm now worried about my kids."
Morrissey believes that radon testing for home sales should be a state and federal law.
"The builders should have to take care of that problem before you take ownership," said Morrissey. "If you are buying a house, you can work it out — whether the seller should pay, or you can split it. It is just something people are not aware of."
The Morrissey family purchased a home in LaVale in 2018. "We had the radon tested and it was seven. No question we got a mitigation system; so we've now done it to two homes. I would highly recommend it to everybody.
"If you have little kids playing the basement, whether it is finished or not, and you spend a lot of time down there ... the radon, it's a silent killer. I never expected to get lung cancer, but if I can help anybody this is the one thing I can do."
Morrissey said her family even experienced radon in an apartment. Between 2015 and 2018, they lived in an apartment in Frederick after selling their Adamstown home. Prior to moving in they asked the landlord to check for radon and the test came back at 14.
"He was great about it," said Morrissey. "He took care of the mitigation." Mitigation is done by an approved radon contractor who typically drills hole in the basement area and uses piping such as PVC to direct radon outside.
Morrissey said she discovered her lung cancer in 2011 when she coughed up a trace amount of blood. She said the tumor in her lower right lung was removed and radiation and chemo were successful. However, cancer appeared in her pelvis in November 2018.
"I was cancer-free for seven years," said Morrissey. "But now I'm starting to really not like November."
She said the spot of cancer was successfully treated with radiation, however, in November 2019 she was found to have cancer in some lymph nodes and is currently being treated for that.
"It is important to have a positive attitude. I've got good doctors and my friends and family and that really makes a difference," she said.
Mark Shaffer, communication director for the MDE, said EPA mapping shows Western Maryland is considered highly susceptible to radon. He said mountainous regions seem to have more exposure than sea level areas.
"It is really important to get the test," said Shaffer. "We are trying to get the word out because what you find is that the level of knowledge on this is virtually nil."
Area hardware stores often have radon test kits available. Test typically require a container placed in the basement area for 24 to 48 hours and left undisturbed. The container is then sealed and sent for testing.
The MDE is expecting to offer free tests kits upon request beginning in mid February. For more information on radon, including testing and licensed mitigation contractors, visit the Maryland.gov website and search for radon, or phone 866-703-3266.