Highland County has seen several cases of lung cancer in non-smokers over the past decade. This has led to some discussion and concerns about radon levels in the county, and these levels potentially being the cause of these lung cancer cases. Trying to determine the cause of cancer cases is very difficult to do, and usually we are left with some good guesses but no definite answers.
Highland County isn’t traditionally a hot spot for radon levels when compared to other parts of Ohio, but nationally we are in one of the higher risk states. For those unfamiliar with the subject, radon is an odorless, colorless, radioactive gas that can seep into our homes from the ground. This gas is naturally occurring and has the potential to pose health risks if high levels are unaddressed and someone is exposed to those high levels over a long period of time. Any home can potentially have high radon levels, regardless of home age and condition. For this reason, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that every home be tested for radon every two years.
“One thing I want to make sure is that people don’t feel like it’s an imminent danger sort of situation, because it’s not,” Highland County Health Commissioner Jared Warner said. “We don’t really know if radon causes cancer. The truth is we’ll never know, but it is a potential cause.”
The Ohio Department of Health offers a good overview of Radon at https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/radon-education-and-licensing-program/about-radon/about-radon.
The Ohio Department of Health also has a radon question hotline at 614-728-0272 that can also help answer your radon questions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also has information about radon at https://www.epa.gov/radon.
Testing for radon is simple and free in Ohio. Anyone interested in ordering a kit can go to https://ohio.radon.com and fill out a short order form to receive a free test kit in the mail. If you don’t have access to the internet, you can call our office at 937-393-1941 and someone will fill out the order form for you. These test kits get mailed in to a lab for analysis, so results will take a few days to get back to you. Results over 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) are considered too high, and steps should be taken to remediate (do something to fix) these levels. If your levels are high, more testing might be needed to understand how to best address your radon issues.
Addressing high radon levels can be very simple, and usually involves sealing cracks in basement concrete and increasing airflow and ventilation in basements and lower levels of a home. An Ohio licensed radon contractor can be hired to help homeowners address high radon levels if needed.
It can be difficult to understand the risk of radon in practical terms when we look at measuring things in picocuries per liter. Picocuries doesn’t really mean much to most people, myself included. The U.S. EPA provides some more relatable risk information on their website at https://www.epa.gov/radon/health-risk-radon.
I especially like the two charts that show the lifetime risk of cancer from radon exposure for smokers and non-smokers, depending on the radon level in your home. If I am a non-smoker living for my lifetime in a home with radon levels at 10 pCi/L, then I have an 18 in 1,000 chance of getting lung cancer as a result of this exposure, or about 1.8%. Lifetime exposure means long term, ongoing exposure to this level of radon. Radon is not something that we connect to cancer risks from short term exposure. It requires long term exposure to potentially cause harm.
There is no way to know for certain if radon is a contributing factor in these recent cancer cases, but it is a possibility. The bottom line: radon tests are free in Ohio. You should get your home tested and fix problems if you find them.
Contact the Highland County Health Department if you have any questions or for help in ordering a free test kit.
This story was provided by Highland County Health Commissioner Jared Warner.
