The entire radon lethality myth is based upon a single study that is basically a backwards math analysis of excess deaths and blames them on radon. I’m not saying it can’t be dangerous, but the number they quote all the time is pure conjecture
It’s all total BS. Radon mitigation is just a money making grift without science behind it. The US has set the radon action levels for homes at least 4 or 5 times lower than other nations.
Here’s a couple good articles from American Thinker on the subject.
“Forbidden Science: Low Level Radiation and Cancer”
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2012/07/forbidden_science_low_level_radiation_and_cancer.html
This one looks at nuclear or radiation hormesis, a term everyone should at least be familiar with.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/06/the_nuclear_theory_you_never_knew_was_nonsense.html
And when you’re done with these look into the truth about DDT.
If you don’t smoke and you don’t live in your basement, it is not much of a problem.
Back to the Radon scam, I see.
Ask the EPA to name one person who succumbed to exposure to radon.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for the answer.
Sold a house back in the early 90s, new buyers insisted we install a radon remediation system. Hope they’re happy with all the ginormous PVC pipes all over the basement as a result.
Fact about Radon 1. There has never been a conclusive study to determine if Radon has any effects. Statements claiming death by Radon always contain wordings such as “estimates” because no one has conclusive proof of a single Radon death.
2. Radon as it appears according to the scare mongers has a half life of less than 4 days. It disappears quickly. It cannot “build up” as the Radon system salesmen tell you. Randon breaks down and disappears.
3. Radon cannot be absorbed by the human body through the skin.
4. Potassium, the mineral found in Bananas and which you cannot live without, is more radioactive than Radon. You body contains about 40 grams of Potassium.
5. Radon is used as a scare tactic to make home owners buy an expensive fan. Radon ventilation systems are nothing but a $50 fan with $50 in PVC piping but due to the “Randon will kill you” wording of slick salesmen you will pay about $1,500-$7,500. That’s right, those Radon “systems” are nothing but a fan that extracts air from your basement.
6. Your utility bill will be paying for that fan plus the cost of heating or cooling the air drawn from your basement. That equals about $10-$50 per month in extra utility costs. It is like leaving several windows open.
7. Randon salesmen will NOT guarantee that their system will remove Randon below the EPA standard of 4 pCi/l. That’s right. They will sell you a system they designed, they install, they take you money for, but they will not guarantee it will work because the entire Randon scare is a scam to simply get your money.
8. Having a Randon fan installed dramatically cuts your ability to resell your property as potential buyers are scared off that you have a property with high Radon levels. That ugly system is also unattractive and reduces the usability of the area where it is installed. Homeowners that have fallen prey to the Randon scam have a harder time reselling their property.
9. If Radon was actually a threat, the federal housing agencies such as HUD, FHA, FTC, EPA, OSHA, etc., would mandate Radon systems in all homes and commercial construction, new and used. They backed off that idea years ago once the Radon scare simmered down and they realized what a scam it is.
10. Randon salesmen do not have college level educations, professional experience, nor any professional credential beyond a simple several day training class to sell you a Radon system. The focus is getting you to agree to buy one. Ask them how can Randon ”build up” if it breaks down in a matter of days? Ask them if they know how many days it takes for Radon to break down(4 days)? Ask them to compare Potassium to Radon and explain to you why one radioactive material will kill you if you don’t have it (Potassium) versus Radon in extremely small levels will kill you.
11. Ask them to explain the Radon level “4.0pCi/l”. (4 picocuries per liter) Ask them what a ”pico” is. What a “Curie” is. They won’t know. They are just there to sell you a fan and some pipe.
12. If you are told that “everyone” buying a home wants a Radon study and since Radon is supposedly “everywhere” and is out there killing people, well, then, why don’t we see every home out there with one of those silly air pumps?? People know this all to be a scam and refuse to participate.
13. Water sources from well water that derives from the soil under your house should also be contaminated with Radon, so why don’t these scam artists trying to sell you an expensive fan for your basement trying to sell you a water filter you’re your house?? Hint: A filter for that doesn’t exist so there is no money to be made on it so they don’t even bother to suggest testing your water, even though they claim this is all for your safety.
14. If Radon seeps from the ground then standing in your yard also exposes you to Radon and its effects.
15. If the EPA is correct that 1 in 15 homes is contaminated beyond 4pCi/L then why hasn’t “everyone” installed at least 1 in 15 homes with these expensive fans? Why hasn’t the EPA ensured legislation to include anti-Radon devices in every home?
16. If Radon truly is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, why hasn't the majority of the public heard about it? There are no television or radio ads (like there is about smoking). There are no educational seminars (outside the real estate realm). Nothing at all that is in place outside the real estate realm to inform or educate the public about Radon and its effects. Think about it for a second, the only time you ever hear about Radon is during the home buying process. It's a big business that brings in millions of dollars every year by preying on the fears of home buyers that are brought on by agents (who don't know any better) and inspectors trying to get a piece of the proverbial pie.
17. Ask anyone in the health industry, particularly someone working in a hospital if they have ever seen or heard of any documented cases of someone being seen, treated or admitted for Radon exposure or cancer that was caused as a direct result of Radon.
18. People are free to buy a property then test and spend their own money on expensive fans that suck the utility bill dry. Testing prior to a sale is nothing but trying to get the seller to pay for the system.
I had a coworker who did his doctorate on radon and I think he worked for some testing company right out of school.
he liked to talk about it and was pretty convinced it was no something you want to ignore.
Now I am going to have to now remember his name...
I had another coworker who was from the soviet union, he was a computer scientist and also a nuclear physicist.
He was a good guy, but wanted all kinds of sla for our team so he could blame any and everything on us if he missed deadlines.
anyway I just happened to have a 1” tungsten sphere so I made a lead lined box for it.
On April 1 I brought them in to work went to the coffee machine and got 2 cups of hot water, I put the sphere in the first one till the water was warm, then put it in the second one till it was reasonably hot.
I went to the coworkers office and said, you told me you worked in nuclear physics, what do you think about this, it is really warm, but my laser thermometer claims it is room temperature.
Very strange, What do you think?
I do not think he will ever forgive me.
10 people in my family have died from Radon, it’s NO JOKE.
...actually it is a joke, I don’t know of ANYONE who’s been harmed by it.
That was my thought too. I worked for builders back then. It was all bs.