If you haven’t had your house or business tested for radon, you should. This was the underlining message at the 2016 Salmon Creek Update sponsored by ManorCare with guest speaker Don Francis. Radon is a gas that is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer and the 1st cause of lung cancer for nonsmokers.
Breathing high levels of radon day in and day out damages lung cells, so it puts the gas into the same category as tobacco products. Your lungs can’t tell the difference between the two, as both damage lungs the same way.
Don, owner of EcoTrust, shared that due to the Missoula Floods, large amounts of radon gas collected in this area (also a lot in Spokane in the Lake Chelan areas), especially in Portland in what’s called the Radon Ridge. Don showed the Salmon Creek Business Group members and guests a slide of Clark County and the average levels of radon in each zip code.
It’s recommended to test your home every two years for radon or if you’ve made a major improvement to your home like new windows or foundation work. In 2010, a new policy was instituted for new home construction to include radon gas systems, but as Don shared it would still be a good idea to test your newer home, as the mitigation systems are passive and not always done right.
Don showed a couple examples of homes in the area where the homeowner hired a local company to install the mitigation system, but Don pointed out all the things that were done wrong. In one case, the gas was being put right back into the house!
Thank you Don all the information your provided! It was very interesting and informative!
