Radon Outreach Program

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has concluded radon is the biggest source of environmental radiation and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. The Environmental Radiation Section is the agency within Washington State that deals with radon issues.

What is radon?
How can radon affect me?
How can I tell if I have radon in my house?
What can I do if I have elevated levels?
Where can I get more information?
Contact

What is radon?

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the radioactive decay of certain elements in the ground. When radium undergoes radioactive decay radon gas is created. Radon is a noble gas, which means that it does not chemically interact with other atoms. When radium in the soil decays the radon produced can rise up into the air and possibly get into a building and concentrate.

How can radon affect me?

Radon can cause lung cancer. As radon and its daughter products radioactively decay, they release energy in the form of particles and photons. These can hit cells and damage or destroy them. Lung cancer can form when a cell is damaged and the cell does not repair itself correctly. The more radon you are exposed to the greater the opportunity for cell damage.

How can I tell if I have radon in my house?

The only way to know if you have elevated levels of radon is to test. Easy to use test kits are available online and from many home improvement and hardware stores. Independent professional radon testers are often used when radon testing is done as part of a real estate transaction.

What can I do if I have elevated levels?

There three things that can help reduce radon levels in your house:

Make it harder for radon to get in.
Make it easier for radon to go somewhere other than your house.
Increase air exchange with the outside, to remove the radon.

You can make it harder for radon to get in by calking and sealing up cracks and penetrations in your basement or slab, or by installing a good vapor barrier in your crawl space. The goal is to have a gas tight barrier between the ground and the inside of your home.

While your house is being built, use Radon-Resistant New Construction (RRNC) techniques to keep radon outside of your home. After the house is built a radon mitigation system can still be installed to move radon from under your house to the outside.

Increasing the air exchange is easier in some places and at some times of year than others. If you have a crawl space, be sure to keep the vents free or obstructions, so the cross ventilation can remove radon and other soil gases.

Where can I get more information?

Radon-Specific Publications and Resources are available online from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Contact Information

For questions about radon within Washington, contact Mike Brennan or 360-236-3253