2. Who should be most concerned about radon levels? Everyone who has not tested and found their home to be safe needs to test.  Smokers, families with young children, people with a family history of cancer, and anyone living in a basement apartment, should  test for radon as soon as possible.  To learn more about this, click on the information page. More info

3. Why should schools do a radon test? About seventy thousand schoolrooms in use today have high short-term radon levels. More info

4. What evidence indicates that radon causes cancer? From all of the radon studies in the U.S. and Europe, more is known about the health risk of radon exposure than almost any other human carcinogen. More info

5. Why does radon cause cancer in the lungs? When inhaled the radioactive decay products may lodge in the lungs for years releasing radioactive particles that may damage the DNA and form a rapidly growing tumor that develops into a cancer in the lungs. More info

6. Why you need to test for radon? You can not see, smell, or taste radon and you could live in a dangerously high level radon count and not know it. It takes years for symptoms to develop and suddenly you find out you have radon induced lung cancer. More info

7. Why should every home be tested? Radon is found in every state and in every country of the world. Two houses may be right next to each other and one may have dangerous levels of radon while the other may not. More info

8. Is there a radon problem where I live? Some state surveys indicate 1 out of 5 homes has elevated radon levels. According to the EPA, 1 out of 15 homes in the U.S. has elevated radon levels. The Minnesota Department of Health estimates that about one in three (1/3) Minnesota homes have enough radon to pose a large risk to the occupants' health over many years of exposure. More info

9. What are the sources of radon getting into the house? If radon is a problem in your soil (either in surface layers or deeper layers) being a gas, it moves up through the soil layers and finds openings through porous concrete floors or walls and enters there. In some cases, well water may also be a source of radon. Since radon is soluble in water, it is more likely to be a problem in ground water rather than surface water where it escapes into the air. More info

10. Can radon be increased in your home by showering, cooking, and using dish washers and washing machines? Yes it can, but it would only make up a very small percentage of the radon in the air. For every 10,000 pCi/L in water only 1 pCi/L would be released into the air. More info

11. How does radon get in the house? Radon is only 2.68 angstroms in diameter, so it easily passes through most paints and building materials as it rises to the surface through the soil. This includes concrete and any other porous material. Fans and wind increase the ability of radon getting into the house. More info

12. What should I do if I am concerned about radon? If you are concerned about the possibilty of having radon in your house, the only solution, is to test for radon. It is easy, inexpensive, and only takes a few minutes to set up. More info

13. What are some radon testing methods? You can use the Pro Series3 Digital Radon Detector, Short-term Canister Tests, the Alpha Track Long Term Radon Test, or the Radon in Water Test Kit. Read more about this on the radon information page. More info

14. How can I reduce radon accumulation in my home? Radon can be reduced in the home each or all of the following: sealing the entry points for radon gas; improving house ventilation; increasing air pressure within the house; and by sub slab depressurization. More info