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. :)

wild animals

So, our new house is in a place in Utah that is in the mountains. It is beautiful and appropriately named. We frequently see wild animals (both inside and out-inside being our kids). I've decided to keep a list of all the different animals we have seen:

deer

elk

rabbit (not ours)

skunk

porcupine (that met Lady, the dog-only one quill though. phew.)

bobcat

fox

and....

penguin.

The penguin was discovered by Three. One morning while eating breakfast she began shrieking,

"MOM!! LOOK!! A PENGUIN!!"

It was a magpie. There was no convincing her though. Apparently if you are black and white that qualifies you as a penguin.

In past years while we vacationed here we would also see moose. Neighbors have reported seeing a mountain lion. If that happens, we may never go outside again.