What is Radon and how does it affect the body? Radon emits high speed particles and energy (radiation) that can harm human cells. Radon exists everywhere, but is dangerous at certain enclosed levels that are breathed in over time within confined spaces like your home.
What is Radon?
On the Periodic Table, the element Radon is listed as RN86. It is also a Noble gas (similar to helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon). They are called noble gases because, in general, they do not react with anything and exhibit great stability and extremely low reaction rates, until…
Radioactivity is created from spontaneous transformation of the nucleus of an atom into another atom, with the emission of a particle or photon. This transformation is referred to as radioactive decay.
How Does Radon Affect the Body?
The issue – radon breaks down / decays according to its half-life, which is 3.8 days. In this decay process, it is releasing particles that get into our bodies, specifically our lungs. When we breathe in radon, it gets into the lining of our lungs and gives off radiation. Over a long time, that can damage the cells and lead to lung cancer.
During a process called ionization, electrons are being added and/or removed from an atom. Three types of ionizing radiation are produced – alpha & beta particles and gamma rays. Alpha particles are the main dangerous particles – they don’t travel far but have strong penetrating power – and can travel one half the speed of light. Alpha particle energy can put dents in a piece of bullet proof plastic.
Other elements generated from this decay process is lead (PB210), which also fills our lungs – continually emitting radiation in our bodies for decades after initial exposure. Alpha particles have an incredible amount of energy depositing destruction in our bodies that our bodies cannot heal accurately – this radiation actually breaks apart our DNA, mutilating our DNA that causes cancer.
Radon Remediation
Fear no more, there is a way to reduce radon levels in homes and other buildings to a safe level. Order a Test Kit or Contact us to learn more! Test a home, fix a home, save a life.
