Date Published: 05/12/2020 [Source]
The average radon level in one of every three homes in Bannock County has about the same impact on the residents of those homes as smoking eight cigarettes a day or getting 200 chest X-rays a year, according to a radon testing professional.
"That's doesn't mean you'll get lung cancer," says Bill Barry, who's operated the Pillar to Post Home Inspectors franchise in Pocatello for the past five years. "But it does mean there's some health considerations over a period of years."
Barry says county radon levels are high enough that the homeowners should reduce the gas — which can cause lung cancer — under standards set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
He says radon can actually worsen the health impact for people who do smoke, increasing the odds that someone could get lung cancer down the road.
Radon is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer for people who don't smoke, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
And the American Cancer Society says radon is responsible for an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year.
So the EPA says homes and businesses with levels of 4.0 picocuries per liter of air should get a radon-reduction system installed.
It also suggests that people consider such a system even if their radon levels are lower than 4.0. Barry says the goal should actually be 2.0.
"That's widely considered an acceptable risk level," he said.