Radon tests can set your mind at ease

In a way, what we worry about is a measure of how well off we are in this country.

While we worry about global warming and heart disease, others are more concerned about finding enough to eat, getting to work without being blown up by a suicide bomber, or dying from cholera contracted from unsanitary conditions.

It's a sign of how blessed we are that we have time enough to be concerned about contracting cancer.

Nevertheless, there's no reason we shouldn't do what we can to live as long and well as we can.

While the lung cancer risks associated with cancer have been known for more than 40 years, most of us don't think about radon, the colorless, odorless radioactive gas that may be seeping into our homes, posing an increased risk to our health. And, combined with smoking, radon is especially dangerous.

Thus, January's National Radon Action Month is aimed at reducing the more than 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year that can be attributed to radon exposure.

Created by the decay of uranium, a naturally occurring mineral in rocks and soil, radon normally rises up through the soil and dissipates in the air outside.

It only becomes a concern, however, when it seeps into homes through openings such as cracks, loose-fitting pipes, sump pits, dirt floors, slab joints or block walls and accumulates in the home.

Most of Southwest Nebraska is in a region designated as having a high potential for radon exposure, according to a map created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey. The map is available online at http://www.epa.gov/radon/zonemap/nebraska.htm

The EPA has set a level of 4 picocuries per liter as the level at which the homeowner should take action.

But the only way to find out if your specific home has a problem is to test it, as pointed out by Mary K. Warner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln extension educator for Red Willow County.

And even if a "high" level comes back for a test, that isn't the final word.

If an initial screening by a short-term test -- usually 2-7 days -- shows high levels, a longer-term test using a more costly instrument is recommended before action is taken to reduce radon levels.

For more information, contact your local extension office or call the Nebraska Radon Hotline at (800) 334-9491.

In Red Willow County, the number is (308) 345-3390, or toll free, (877) 674-6947. Ask for "Radon in Nebraska Homes: Healthy Indoor Air for Healthy Nebraskans" (G1404) or find it on the Web at extension.unl.edu/publications

Yes, we're lucky if we don't have more urgent issues to worry about than radon in our basements. But a little effort may help put our minds at ease.