Read This First!

My involvement with Radon testing has nothing to do with a great conviction that Radon will kill our clients. It has more to do with providing a service that is most often requested as part of my Home Inspection business. More and more I am confronted by, or here about, realtors, builders and homeowners despairing comments about the need for Radon testing. Surely you have heard or maybe even participated in such comments. For those of you who still question the importance of testing for Radon and the installation of Radon mitigation systems, the following is taken from Radon News in North Carolina a publication of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of NC State University. This didn't come from the Fed's baby it comes from the red neck home boys. You better be careful what you say about the need for Radon testing. You may be required to explain your comments before a Judge right after an expert witness from NC State University finishes his testimony on the dangers of Radon exposure. It will not be a pleasant experience and your bank account may be seriously reduce afterwards.

Iowa Study Confirms Radon Health Risk  

The Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not residential radon exposure exhibits a statistically significant positive association with lung cancer. To ascertain this, the authors conducted a population-based, case-control epidemiologic study of 1,027 Iowa women from 1993 to 1997.

Researchers studied two groups of women 413 who were newly diagnosed with lung cancer and 614 who showed no evidence of invasive lung cancer at the time of the study. Both groups were composed of women between the ages of 40 and 84 who had lived in their homes for 20 consecutive years. The women studied in both groups included both smokers as well as nonsmokers. The study was limited to women because, typically, they spend more time in the home and have less occupational exposures to lung carcinogens. Additionally, women in Iowa tend to move less than women in most states.

At least four radon detection devices were placed in each subject's home for one year. The researchers linked these multiple home radon measurements with the estimates on radon exposures outside of the home, the time spent outdoors or in the workplace, for example, to determine actual detailed exposure estimates over the past 20 years for each participant.

The researchers found that approximately 60 percent of the basement radon concentrations and a significant percentage of first-and second-story radon concentrations exceeded the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's' action level of 4 pCi/liter for both study groups.

The Iowa Study found a significant relationship between radon exposure and lung cancer. As radon exposure increased so did the rates for lung cancer. Even at the EPA's home radon action level of 4 pCi/L, the researchers found an increased risk of lung cancer by 50%. All lung cancer cell types showed an increased risk with radon exposure. However, large cell and squamous cell carcinomas showed the highest degree of association with radon exposure.

The Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study provides evidence that residential radon exposure is a significant cause of lung cancer.

This study can be found in the June 1, 2000 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. To access an electronic summary of the Iowa study, use the following Internet addresses: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/iowastudy.html or http://www.cheec.uiowa.edu/misc/radon/html.

Thought for the week