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Radon. You can't smell it or see it, and it won't make you sneeze or itch. Still, radon is second only to cigarettes in causing lung cancer across the nation, according to the National Academy of Sciences.
Radon occurs naturally, and Northern New Mexico counties have some of the highest levels of radon in a state already showing levels higher than the U.S. average, according to Michael A. Taylor, coordinator of the Radon Outreach Program for the New Mexico Environment Department.
For the second year, the department is offering free radon testing for residents in the state. It is as simple as calling Taylor up and giving him an address. The department sends an envelope with activated charcoal inside and directions for how to use it. The charcoal absorbs what is airborne inside a house. The envelope comes with prepaid postage, so the charcoal can be mailed to a private company that will measures the radon level. The company sends the radon-level results and a set of Environmental Protection Agency guidelines directly to the homeowner.
Taylor said his office can offer technical advice to people who still find the information confusing.
High radon levels can be fixed without tearing down walls or razing a house, Taylor said. Also, it takes long-time exposure to high levels of the gas before it affects a person's health, he said.
Taylor said New Mexico's highly mineralized soil contains uranium. As uranium goes through radioactive decay, it produces radon gas. The gas can filter into houses and buildings without occupants knowing it is there. Over time, the level of the gas can build. Radon gas then decays into solid, airborne particles called progeny.
These are sucked into the lungs as people breathe, Taylor said. "They used to be called radon daughters, but somebody decided that wasn't politically correct and changed it to progeny."
Of residences tested in the past, Taylor said, the highest levels of radon were found in the central counties -- Santa Fe, Taos, Rio Arriba, Mora and Colfax.
A nationwide study by the National Academy of Sciences reported prolonged radon exposure caused 15,000 to 22,000 lung-cancer deaths each year. Taylor said no epidemiological studies have been performed in New Mexico on lung-cancer deaths related to radon.
(Sidebar)
Facts about radon
What is radon?
Radon is a naturally occurring, inert radioactive gas resulting from the radioactive decay of uranium, which exists in the Earth's crust. Radon emanates from soil and water supplies and collects in buildings because of its gaseous properties.
Is it dangerous?
Radon is second only to cigarettes in causing lung cancer across the nation, the National Academy of Sciences says. Radon delivers only 1 percent of the radiation dose to the lungs, while the other 99 percent comes from the decay of radon daughter products, now known as progeny.
How do you test a home for radon?
Start by calling Michael A. Taylor of the New Mexico Environment Department at 827-1093. The department will mail a test, directions and an envelope with prepaid postage, so it can be sent to a private lab for analysis.
Sources: New Mexico Environment Department and The New Mexican
(C) 2005 The Santa Fe New Mexican. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
