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A typical radon test kit Fluctuation of ambient air radon concentration over one week, measured in a laboratory. The first step in mitigation is testing. No level of radiation is considered completely safe, but as it cannot be eliminated, governments around the world have set various action levels to provide guidance on when radon concentrations should be reduced.
According to a 2003 report EPA's Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, epidemiological evidence shows a clear link between lung cancer and high concentrations of radon, with 21,000 radon-induced U.S. lung cancer deaths per year—second only to cigarette smoking. [3]
To achieve these aims, WHO has formed a network of key partner agencies from some 40 Member States. This network is the basis for the WHO International Radon Project which was launched in 2005. Working groups will collect and analyse information on radon risk, radon policies, radon mitigation and prevention as well as risk communication.
Maps of average radon levels in houses are available, to assist in planning mitigation measures. [8] While high uranium in the soil/rock under a house does not always lead to a high radon level in air, a positive correlation between the uranium content of the soil and the radon level in air can be seen.
Efforts to reduce indoor radon levels are called radon mitigation. In the US, the EPA recommends all houses be tested for radon. In the UK, under the Housing Health & Safety Rating System, property owners have an obligation to evaluate potential risks and hazards to health and safety in a residential property. [96]
Radon experiments at the Radium Institute in Paris, 1924. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive noble gas discovered in 1900 by Friedrich Ernst Dorn (1848-1916) and is considered carcinogenic. Radon is increasingly found in areas with high levels of uranium and thorium in the soil. These are mainly areas with high granitic rock deposits.
Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) or becquerel per cubic meter (Bq m-3). Both are measurements of radioactivity. The World Health Organization (WHO) sets the ideal indoor radon levels at 100 Bq/m-3. [97] In the United States, it is recommend to fix homes with radon levels at or above 4 pCi/L.
The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are air pollution standards issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The standards, authorized by the Clean Air Act, are for pollutants not covered by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that may cause an increase in fatalities or in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness.