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Portland radon levels reveal potential health risks
1 in 4 homes in the area have potentially unsafe levels of radon, a new survey by a local university reveals.
Fri, Jan 25 2013 at 10:15 AM
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Photo: David Grant/Flickr
One in four homes in the greater Portland, Ore., area contain radon levels well above the safety limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to a recent study by Portland State University.
Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless gas that enters homes through cracks, gaps and other seams in the foundation or through water systems. Radon, which is generated by the breakdown of naturally occurring uranium, can build up in a home or building over time and produce serious health risks. It is the second most common cause of lung cancer in the U.S. behind smoking. According to the EPA, an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. each year are linked to radon exposure, the majority of which are directly linked to patients who are also smokers.
According to a report from The Oregonian, Portland is of particularly high risk for radon because of its granite-infused sediment, which contains a high level of natural uranium that settled in the area during the last ice age.
The new study, the first since 2003, tested 33,000 homes in Portland, Beaverton, Oregon City, Hillsboro and the surrounding cities and broke the results down by ZIP code (pdf). Nineteen ZIP codes were judged to have a high radon potential, and 79 percent of all ZIP codes were found to have a high or moderate risk.
Oregon health officials are recommending that all homeowners have their houses checked. Commercial test kits are available for as little as $35, and The Oregonian says any problems can often by fixed by contractors for between $1,000 and $2,100. "It's a geological hazard that can be dealt with cheaply," said PSU geology professor Scott Burns, who conducted the tests with his students. "We need to reduce the amount of radiation in our lives, and this is one way of doing that."
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If you are a non believer on radon go to the web site www.canSAR.org it will change your mind
Nuclear Bomb testing in the 1950's has made the entire planet radioactive... fallout is everywhere, and will stay for the next 25,000 years... any "Radon" testing kits available to the general public are simply radioactivity testers, tight enclosed spaces, think tight homes or duct tape and plastic rooms tend to keep drifting fallout-OUT...RS
The entire planet was radioactive from the day it first formed and has been getting less radioactive every day since. Radon test kits, at least the decent ones, check for the energy levels specific to radon which are different than the energy levels from fallout.
radon might be a gas but its daughter particles are not. all radioactive elements decay into other elements.
Uranium decays into radon. When radon decays its no longer "radon". Its just as inaccurate or even dishonest to call the particles that were radon, radon as it is to call radon, uranium. I tend to disregard statements with blatently bad sceince as rants from the uninformed. I'm not saying that you are "wrong" in your views, I'm saying I don't listen to them.
Sorry, it appears you are misinformed, It starts as uranium 238 half life 4.5 billion year . gives off alpha particles to become Thorium half life 24 days, 5 changes later it becomes radon 222. Half life is 3.8 days gives off alpha particles to become Polonium 218 and on and on till it becomes stable lead 206 There are great charts on the internet to chart the transformation. Ten times half life is the time it takes to almost completely change to the next element.
Actually it appears you are misinformed, or at least underinformed. And nothing you state is counter to any of his comments.
Your statement is deficient in that there are 3 naturally occurring isotopes of radon. Yes one starts with U-238, but thorium-232 (which is about 3 times as common as U-238) also decays through Ra-220 and ultimately ends up as Pb-208. While U-235 decays through Ra-219 and ends up as Pb-207, although U-235 is less than 1% as common as U-238.
I am under the impression that Portland was one of the healthier cities in the USA. Thia article does not change that opinion. The myth of a significant danger from Radon is just that ...a myth. Before spending $35-$50 on a test kit and $1000s to fix a non-problem. Take a look at the evidence against Radon as a major threat.
http://www.forensic-applications.com/radon/radon.html
Radon is a myth. Why don't you call Gloria Linnertz and ask to talk to her husband. Or sorry you can;t. Her husbands death was due to radon exposer. Her home phone # is 618-939-8153
http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/full.php if you want to see the radioactivity coming in from japan ck out this weather radar, click loop and watch the dark clouds turn blue and disappear. This is USA NOAA radar.