Why and How a Radon Advocate
Can Change the World

November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month and January is National Radon Awareness Month, but those are not the only times when radon advocates are active.  The radon activist lives and breathes the goal of educating others about the danger of living, working or attending school in environments that have high levels of radioactive radon gas—the second leading cause of lung cancer. Any type of building or structure that touches the ground may be susceptible to elevated levels of radon, whether it is new or old, brick or frame, with or without a basement, with a crawl space or slab on grade. The unrelenting radon activist relays the message that radon is the leading environmental cause of cancer mortality with an EPA estimated 21,000 radon-related lung cancer deaths yearly is found in every state in elevated levels, and is responsible for up to 18% of all lung cancer deaths in the U.S. according to the World Health Organization’s newest evidence.

With presentations in front of groups of medical personnel, state or federal legislators, businessmen and women, community organizers, home builders, realtors, educators, or friends and neighbors, the radon advocate shares the fact that radon exposure increases the change of lung cancer; and with testimonies before state and federal governing bodies, the activist strives to encourage governmental protection from this silent killer.  Most people are unaware of the danger of exposure to radon gas, so the radon activist urges everyone to perform a simple test with a kit which can be purchased at hardware stores or online; and if the radon level is between 2-4 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), test again; if the level remains elevated, hire a licensed/certified professional to install a mitigation system. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency uses an action level of 4.0 pCi/L; however, the World Health Organization uses 2.7 pCi/L as its reference level. Yet there is no safe level of radon exposure.

  Be it through newspaper articles, blogs, facebook entries, TV or radio interviews, webinars, websites, brochures, or press releases, the radon activist shares his or her life story of how education about radon came only after the diagnosis of lung cancer reared its demonic head.  Not wanting anyone else to learn in this manner what radioactive radon exposure can do, the radon activist shares his/her knowledge with seatmates on airplanes, friends on facebook, neighbors, retail clerks, postal employees, and utility workers by  relaying the message of the Surgeon General that everyone should test the home for radon--a Class A carcinogen.

The determination to prevent future deaths from radon exposure is paramount in the mind of the activist, so I ask you to test your home for radon, fix it if the level is elevated, and share your radon knowledge with others.