Exposure to radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in those who do smoke cigarettes – and that is why Hopewell Valley residents are being urged to test their homes for the invisible, odorless gas.
Free radon test kits and information will be available at Borough Hall, 88 E. Broad St., Hopewell Borough, and at Borough Hall, 30 N. Main St., Pennington, during January, said Montgomery Township Health Officer Stephanie Carey.
The radon test kits are being made available through a partnership with the Montgomery Township Health Department, which received a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to pay for the test kits.
Hopewell Borough and Pennington have shared services agreements with Montgomery Township.
“Radon is a serious health risk, but because it is invisible and odorless, it is easy to ignore the potential hazard in our own homes,” Carey said.
Radon, a radioactive gas, occurs when uranium and radium break down in the soil and rock formations, she said. Radon gas moves up through the soil and into homes through foundation cracks and openings around pumps, pipes and drains.
There is no safe level of radon, but the risk for developing lung cancer rises dramatically when the level of radon in a home exceeds 4 picoCuries per liter of air. The average level of radon in an American home is 1.3 picoCuries per liter.
When the level of radon is at or exceeds 4 picoCuries per liter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the DEP recommend taking steps to reduce the radon level. State-certified radon mitigation companies can be hired to install mitigation systems.
“A significant number of homes in central New Jersey are predicted to be above the acceptable limit for radon,” Carey said. “We would like to see as many homes tested as possible to reduce the radon risk in our communities.”
A radon test kit should be placed on the lowest livable level of a house, the first floor in a house without a basement, or in a finished or unfinished basement, but not in a crawl space. The test kit needs to be placed in an area where it will not be disturbed.
Lung cancer is the only known health effect directly linked to radon exposure. Of the 4,700 annual lung cancer deaths in New Jersey, as many as 140 to 250 of those deaths may be attributable to radon exposure, according to the DEP.