[Flick Lives]

But they also noticed a trend over time. Depending on where in the homes the radon was measured, radon levels started inching up in either 2004 or 2006. And the trend was linked with just how much unconventional drilling was going on. This includes horizontal mines and hydraulic fracturing or fracking.

Granite can emit radon. Could be all the granite countertops that became so very trendy in the last 10 or so years. Or, it could be the ongoing obsession with preventing the tiniest air leak in houses for the purpose of saving energy. Radon gas in a house will dissipate unless the air is trapped within a house.

[freeandfreezing]

It is possible that homes just happened to get sealed more tightly over that time and this accounts for the higher radon levels, the researchers said.

But it's also possible that the radon is coming into homes through the air.

The increase in granite counter tops is interesting, since a source inside the house is more likely to contribute to radon presence than a source outside. The researcher's contention that the increase in radon readings inside homes miles from any possible source is due to air carried radon is really farfetched.

Particularly when they simultaneously note that homes are sealed more tightly. Apparently they haven't considered that a tightly sealed house isn't likely to leak much air in either.

Tightly sealed houses can of course increase the likelihood of locally generated contaminants accumulating in a house, but that doesn't support the author's political objectives.