Sunday, February 18, 2007

RADON GAS--LUNG CANCER

  1. Radon gas comes from the decay of uranium in the ground under your house.

  2. It doesn't matter what kind of house you have, radon gas can still seep in whether you have a basement, crawl space, or a flat slab of concrete.
  3. It doesn't matter if your house is old or new, brick or shingle, one story or two. You are not aware of this gas coming in because you cannot see, smell, or taste it.

Please don't think it can't happen to you, because that is what I thought. When I heard the term "radon gas" a few years ago; I remember thinking our house is only 20 years old, we can't have radon gas, because we have a very tight basement. Well, my husband died of lung cancer last year. We didn't really know what radon gas was; but when we asked what could have caused this cancer, the oncologist said "smoking and radon gas." My husband hadn't smoked in over 27 years; and as I said, we were ignorant as to what radon gas was, but we didn't think it was in our house.

When Dana Reeves died, there was a mention on TV about radon causing lung cancer; and I remembered what the doctor said. That was one month after my husband died. I searched the Internet and found that I could buy a radon test kit at the hardware store and tested our house. The house tested over 4 times the EPA action level of 4.0 (pCi/L) picocuries per liter of air. After mitigation, the house is a safer 1.1

A couple of weeks after my husband died, I prayed to God to give me a purpose for my life. He gave this to me. For one year I have been working to get a law passed that says a home cannot be sold without first being tested for radon; and if it is 4.0 pCi/L or above, it must be mitigated. I have shared our story with whomever will listen. People must test their homes. I met the surgeon general; and he said people will listen to our story, so I called the TV stations. A segment was put on the evening news.

There is a bill (HB1425) on the House Floor in Illinois that makes home buyers aware of the dangers of radon gas and encourages them to test their home for radon. I pray that it becomes a law. This is a great first step to saving thousands of lives. All of the other states should follow suite.

Don't wait, test your home, and act today to protect your family.

Go to http://ehso.com/ehshome/radonstateagencies.htm

to find radon contacts for your state

Web sites:

www.cansar.org

http://radon-links.com

http://www.kmov.com/health/asseenonnews4/stories/kmov_localnews_070119_radon.5894bf36.html

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