1. As a chance to learn more about a topic and alter our views if necessary because we found out new information.

2. As a chance to learn more about a topic and provide additional information we may not have already known about the topic here on the Water Testing Blog.

Today’s difference of opinion came to us from a gentleman by the name of ‘Keith’ who wrote, “You stated ‘Radon gas in homes can wipe out whole families and the victims never even know the gas existed before it happens. ‘ This is total B.S. I have studied Radiation effects in people since 1969 and there is no known case of this ocurrance. Prove it.”

First of all, thank you, Keith for contacting us.

Upon reading our own statement, perhaps we may have over-dramatized things a tiny bit, but then again, perhaps not. According to a page on the United States Environmental Protection Agency web site (https://www.epa.gov/radon), “Radon is estimated to cause about 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year, according to EPA’s 2003 Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes (EPA 402-R-03-003).”

The numbers of deaths from other causes are taken
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
2005-2006 National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control Report and 2006 National Safety Council Reports.

The EPA’s web site goes on to say, “Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year. That’s because when you breathe air containing radon, you can get lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.”

So, while radon doesn’t run up into homes with both barrels of a shotgun blazing as it takes human life, it does seem to kill quite a few people — with both the USEPA and Surgeon General of the United States in agreement that radon poses a significant health risk to humans.

Looking for additional resources related to radon? You may want to browse through Radon Resources.

About a month ago we reported that environmental testing had detected elevated levels of radon in a residential area called The Acreage in Florida… and that 13 families in the development had children who currently suffer from or did suffer from brain tumors or cancer. The Palm Beach County Health Department also conducted in-depth interviews with 12 of 13 families. They did not, however, come up with any definitive explanations for the cluster of cancer cases observed.

Radon Suspect in Florida Tumor and Cancer Cases

Now, after months of back-and-forth between the families, the Health Department, and various State Officials, it appears as though the State of Florida will step in and perform its own testing and hopefully find a reason for all the illnesses.

THE ACREAGE – State officials will test the water and soil at cancer-stricken children’s homes in The Acreage, said the Florida Department of Health’s chief of staff.

That decision, which the children’s families had sought for months, was disclosed Friday.

“If they want us to test it, we will,” said health department Chief of Staff Robert Siedlecki Jr.

“Wonderful,” said Tracy Newfield, whose daughter had a brain tumor removed when she was 11. “They’ve had our medical records and had our approval to test whatever they want.”

Gov. Charlie Crist pledged Thursday to seek federal help to investigate whether something has caused higher-than-normal rates of pediatric brain tumors and cancer, particularly among girls, in The Acreage. ( source )

While the families whose children fell ill and other families in the area applauded the State’s decision to intervene…

Senate President Jeff Atwater, R- North Palm Beach, also expressed sympathy.

“My heart goes out to the Acreage families who are experiencing the heartache of cancer,” he said in a statement. “I cannot imagine the pain these parents, grandparents, children and their loved ones are feeling. I support the calls for further investigation and thank Governor Crist for committing to get to the bottom of this.” ( source )

… while others felt the State had no reason to get involved and indicated that the inconclusive nature of results from previous testing did not immediately warrant another round of (more in-depth) environmental testing.

However, state environmental officials tested water last year to help the health department. Its samples from 50 wells chosen randomly in The Acreage indicated a few homes had elevated levels of radium and other radioactive substances that could result from natural causes.

The same study concluded ground water quality in The Acreage was “generally good.”

Palm Beach County’s heath director, Dr. Alina Alonso, said investigators’ interviews had not turned up a cause and that it didn’t make sense at this stage to run tests looking for one. ( source )

No matter how you look at it, every family in that area has suffered. Whether in the form of illness, stress over not knowing if a loved one may suddenly become ill, or greatly diminished property values because no one wants to move into a suspected cancer cluster, no family in that area has escaped unscathed.

All of us here at Water Testing Blog hope the State of Florida can get to the bottom of things and help those folks out.

Can a Person Test for Radon at Home?

Absolutely. Test kits exist for detecting the presence of radon in air and in water. One can also install radon mitigation systems to reduce and/or remove radon from a building.

Below you will find links to other articles on the topic of radon in the air, radon in the water, ways to test for radon and ways to get rid of radon:

• Radon Gas Can Kill Whole Families… Slowly
• Test Kits for Radon in Water and Radon in Air
• Radon Test Kits (for New Jersey)
• Radon Removal Systems

No one likes to hear the words ‘cancer’ or ‘tumor’… especially when discussing the health of children. Unfortunately for the residents of a Florida community, those words and children have gone together way too often.

Health officials now suspect that elevated levels of radon in the area’s drinking water may have played a part in causing at least a dozen cases of brain cancer or brain tumors and have started testing water from area wells, interviewing residents, and conducting in-depth environmental testing.

THE ACREAGE — Health officials will roll out more environmental tests to determine whether a common factor — radon — could be the cause of a suspected cancer cluster in The Acreage.

The Palm Beach County Health Department plans to screen for the radioactive gas in the homes of a dozen families whose children were diagnosed with brain tumors or brain cancer in recent years.

…

Investigators would complete the radon tests within the next few weeks, after health officials wrap up a month of exhaustive interviews with families of the dozen Acreage children who were diagnosed with brain tumors or brain cancer from 1993 to 2008.

Radium produces radon — a radioactive gas, known to cause lung cancer — when it decays in rocks, soil and water. If elevated levels of radon are found in a home, that could indicate that sources of excessive radiation exist.

Based on samples they took randomly from 50 Acreage homes last year, state environmental officials concluded that some homes in The Acreage have wells with elevated levels of radium and other radioactive substances, which could be from natural causes. ( source )

Below you will find links to other articles on the topic of radon in the air, radon in the water, ways to test for radon and ways to get rid of radon:

• Radon Gas Can Kill Whole Families… Slowly
• Test Kits for Radon in Water and Radon in Air
• Radon Test Kits (for New Jersey)
• Radon Removal Systems

One of the scariest facts about radon gas deals with its ability to amass in substantial concentrations in a person’s home without them ever seeing, smelling or tasting it in their air or water supply. radon has the ability to build up to toxic levels without anyone in the home knowing — unless they perform periodic testing.

What harm does radon cause?

In a word, CANCER. Persons exposed to radon have a signifigantly higher risk of developing lung cancer than those not exposed to radon.

Radon causes lung cancer, and is a threat to health because it tends to collect in homes, sometimes to very high concentrations. As a result, radon is the largest source of exposure to naturally occurring radiation. ( source )

Where does radon come from?

Radon, like other dangerous and potentially toxic substances like arsenic, occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust. You can potentially find radon anywhere, but yet it has few definable geological indicators which make it more prevalent in one place than in others.

Radon (chemical symbol Rn and atomic number 86) is a naturally occurring radioactive gas found in soils, rock, and water throughout the World. It has numerous different isotopes, but radon-220, and -222 are the most common. Radon is one of the heaviest gases, has a half-life of 3.823 days and emits alpha particles … Radon-222 is the decay product of radium-226. Radon-222 and its parent, radium-226, are part of the long decay chain for uranium-238. Since uranium is essentially ubiquitous in the earth’s crust, radium-226 and radon-222 are present in almost all rock, soil, and water. ( source )

How can I test for radon in my home?

Two main classes of radon detection kits exist: Short Term and Long Term. Short term radon test kits measure radon levels over a shorter period of time and provide a more immediate assessment of radon risk while long term radon test kits build a profile of a dwelling’s exposure to radon over time.

Which radon test kit will work best for my needs?

The short term radon test will let you know your current radon exposure level and will work great for anyone moving into a new home, new apartment, etc.

Experts then recommend long term radon testing take place after an initial short term test so that residents may learn when radon tends to enter their building, if in fact it does.

Do I have to test for radon ever again?

Unless you have no fear of lung cancer, of course you should test for radon on a regular basis. You should also test for radon if you have work done to your home, build an addition, or plan on having someone occupy a floor lower than where previous radon testing took place.

Why would I test for radon in water?

While a large percentage of radon enters homes in an airborne fashion, it can also enter a home through its water supply especially if the home uses a well. Radon has the ability to enter groundwater as easily as arsenic… and health officials advise periodic water testing for BOTH of those parameters.