About Radon

Radon is a gas that you cannot smell, taste or see. Radon forms naturally when uranium, thorium, or radium, (radioactive metals) breaks down in rocks, soil and groundwater. People can be exposed to radon primarily from breathing radon in air that comes through cracks and gaps in buildings and homes. Because radon comes naturally from the earth, people are always exposed to it.

•  testing is the only effective way to determine whether you or your family is at risk of high radon exposure in your home.

• For more information, check with your state radon office.

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The EPA lists the following ways that radon can get into buildings:

• Cracks in solid floors and walls

• Construction joints

• Gaps around service pipes

• Cavities inside walls

• water supply

Radon in Soil

Radon gets into the indoor air primarily from the permeability in the soil under homes and other buildings.  Typically, air pressure in homes and is lower than the pressure in the soil around or underneath the foundation.  The pressure difference will create suction-stack effect.  Radon will come through cracks due to that suction (even at low levels). For more information, please see EPA’s Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes.