If you consider the leading causes for death in America today, lower respiratory disease will come shortly after heart disease, accidents, or cancer. There are multiple factors in the lives of American’s causing cancer and lung disease. Smoking of course is the most significant, but according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radon poisoning is the 2nd largest cause of lung disease.
The EPA published data that indicates a rough ratio of radon level exposure of about 1pCi/L over a lifetime, proportional to 0.02% of individuals getting lung cancer. As the radon level exposure over a lifetime increases to 20 pCi/L, the lung cancer risk goes up to almost 4%. This data suggests that even if you haven’t been a smoker over your lifetime, the risk for lung cancer is still relevant when exposed to increasing levels of radon over time. In summary, increased levels of radon create increased percentages of Americans getting lung cancer. However, as we’ll find out, the risk of lung cancer increases even more rapidly when you add in the smoking variable.
The data is eye opening when you factor in the average American who is a smoker with exposure to radon. The ratio for this is about 1 pCi/L radon exposure over a lifetime to .2% of smokers developing lung cancer. As radon levels increase over time, the risk of lung cancer increases even more exponentially for individuals who habitually smoke compared to individuals who don’t. When individuals reach 20 pCi/L of average radon exposure in a lifetime, the chance of lung cancer increases to over 25% for the average smoker. In short, your risk of death increases the more you are exposed to radon, and considerably more so for habitual smokers.
As the data shows, we’d advise smokers to quit and homeowners to take their radon levels seriously, as taking these 2 quality measures will decrease mortality rate. That is why American Radon Removal is here. We want to decrease radon levels in American homes to lower the risk of lung cancer and prevent residents from the risk of developing lung cancer or disease due to high levels of radon. If you are looking for more information on radon mitigation strategies or solutions, we are here to help. Contact American Radon Removal today to learn more.
Sources: epa.gov