Sometimes it’s not what we put into the environment that kills us–it’s what’s already there.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer, behind only smoking tobacco, killing 15,000 to 20,000 people annually. Sangamon County has some of the highest radon readings in Illinois: More than one in every four homes here has a radon level that exceeds what the EPA considers safe.
Radon is a natural, radioactive gas that escapes from the ground and enters the air. It comes from decaying radium, itself a byproduct of uranium found in the soil. Outside radon dissipates harmlessly into the air. But indoors radon can collect at dangerous levels, measured in picoCuries per liter (pCi/L). Radon becomes harmful when it is breathed over extended periods of time. The gas also can break down into particles, which can get lodged in the lungs. The effects of radon exposure were first studied on miners in the early 20th century.
According to a 1991 survey of homes throughout the U.S., the average indoor radon level is about 1.3 pCi/L. Outdoors the average is about .4 pCi/L. A reading of 4 pCi/L is considered dangerous. In Sangamon County, according to the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety, 29 percent of all homes exceed that level. Some have readings as high as 23.2 pCi/L.
“You can’t look at a house and say it has a radon problem,” says Sharron LaFollette, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. LaFollette, who has a PhD in toxicology, is directing two studies on radon. One examines how radon levels change with the seasons. In Illinois, home sellers are required to disclose if a high level of radon has ever been detected. How and when to test for it can determine a home’s marketability. LaFollette is also studying how weatherization affects radon levels, working with CWLP to measure homes before and after energy-saving measures have been implemented. An airtight home might be good for your utility bill, but not for radon levels.
“There’s a high degree of denial about radon,” says LaFollette. “People say it’s nature and they can’t do anything about it, so they ignore it. When I give education seminars, the young families with kids–the people I want to reach most–don’t come.”
LaFollette says homes in Sangamon County and most of northern Illinois test high for radon because of the way the state’s geology was affected by glaciers from the Ice Age. “When all that ice moved through the state, it brought along all the problematic soils with it,” she says.
Depending on the house and its location, lowering radon to safe levels can cost anywhere from $700 to $2,500, LaFollette says. Usually a pipe is drilled into the foundation and a fan in installed to push the radon through the pipe to the outdoors. Though most developers don’t offer it, a radon pipe can be installed in new homes for only about $150 during construction. Some cities such as East Moline actually require radon pipes in new homes. But not in Springfield, says LaFollette. “Nobody wants to think it’s a problem.”
This article appears in Apr 17-23, 2003.
