Date Published: 02/25/2020 [Source]
Winter is not over yet — which makes now a good time to test for elevated radon levels at home.
The colorless, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas is present in the environment but is more common to accumulate in higher levels in homes in the winter.
"In the winter, our homes are sealed up. We keep our doors and windows closed. We run our furnaces," said Clark County Combined Health District Director of Environmental Health Larry Shaffer. "The hot air wants to pull the radon gas up out of the ground and that's when it accumulates in our homes."
The gas is potentially deadly and is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the country — followed by smoking.
Radon is measured in picoCuries per Liter (pCi/L), and the number to keep in mind is 4 pCi/L. The risk of cancer at that level for someone who's never smoked is the same as the risk of dying in a car crash. The risk is compounded if someone is a smoker and is also exposed to elevated levels of radon.
"About half the results I've seen from homes in Clark County and around the area test higher than that — not always drastically higher but sometimes slightly higher," he said.
Data from the Ohio Department of Health shows that Clark County, as well as Champaign, Greene, Madison and other surrounding counties, have higher indoor concentrations of the gas compared to other parts of the state.
Shaffer said the key to protecting your home and family is to test for radon.