Radon

I must have waaaaay too much time on my hands to be posting twice in one day:)

Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas.  It forms naturally from the decay of radioactive elements, such as uranium, found at different levels in soil and rock throughout the world.  Radon is found indoors and outdoors.  It can be breathed into the lungs as a form of high-energy radiation that can damage the DNA inside the body's cells (eventually leading to lung cancer).  The National Toxicology Program (NTP) which is made up of other gov't agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the FDA (kind of counting on you all knowing what this acronym is), has classified radon as 'known to be a human carcinogen'.  Radon levels vary greatly in different parts of the world, even within different neighborhoods.  Elevated radon levels have been found in every state.  The EPA recommends taking steps to lower radon levels if test results show levels of 4.0 pCi/L or higher.  (cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/pollution/radon)

We live on a rock graveyard.  We finally did a radon test in our home, sent it off to be analyzed and were called with the results this past week.

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This means we will be installing (or rather having someone install) a 'sub-slab depressurization' unit to increase ventilation in our home.  

Go get yourself a test kit and find out what the radon level is like in your home.  If you're lucky, you and your significant other can 'give' each other a ventilation system for Christmas. :)