Radon mitigation services are provided by many a radon testing company all throughout the United States. After all, the threat of radon is not one to be diminished, as it can all too easily lead to lung cancer, especially when the radon exposure occurs over a longer period of time and especially when radon levels are exceeding the action level that has been set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. Radon has become such a problem that not only do up to 20,000 people die from lung cancer that was developed because of radon exposure with each and every passing year, but that the Surgeon General of the United States has declared it one of the top causes of lung cancer in this country, second behind tobacco usage alone. Therefore, it is clear that radon is a force to be reckoned with and that exposure to radon, especially high levels of radon, is never to be taken lightly.

When it comes to understanding radon, knowing your risk is critical. After all, you are likely more at risk for radon exposure than you realize, as up to one home out of every 15 homes in this country alone was found to have a radon level meeting or even exceeding that above mentioned EPA action level. In addition to this, certain parts of the country are even more afflicted by radon, with seven states particularly hard hit. In these states, up to one third of all homes met the radon action level. And on top of all of this, up to three Native American reservations had the same ratios in regard to radon levels in their homes. You might be living in a home with high levels of radon and might not even know it, as radon is a gas that is invisible to taste and sight as well as odorless.

But what can you do if you’re worried about radon in your home? First of all, you should understand your risk factors. If you live in one of the areas mentioned above, you are likely at a higher risk for radon exposure. In addition to this, living in a home where sump pump excavation or sump pump installation has recently occurred is also something that could have increased the radon levels in your home. Regardless of risk, however, just about anyone could benefit from the services of a radon testing company.

A radon testing company will provide residential radon testing services in a number of different ways. Most common will be the use of radon detectors, of which both short term and long term varieties now exist. Typically, a radon testing company is likely to use a short term detector, which will be effective for as many as 90 days, nearly three full months, first. If the long term detector, which will detect radon for longer than this period of time, is needed, the radon testing company is likely to implement it later on. These methods are quite the effective way for any radon testing company to accurately determine the levels of radon that are present in your home.

And what will you do if radon levels ARE present in your home? Likely, passive methods of mitigation will be all that is needed, as they alone can reduce radon levels in the typical residence by as much as a full 50%. In some cases, however, a radon ventilation fan might be needed. Fortunately, the average radon ventilation fan is very effective indeed and will likely work quite quickly to bring the radon levels down to where they need to be. Therefore, the process of radon mitigation and abatement is a lot more painless than many people even realize.

At the end of the day, the prospect of radon in your home is not an easy thing to sit with. However, hiring a radon testing company and then dealing with any radon issues as they arise could even save your life. Acting quickly to mitigate radon levels in your home will help to lower your risk of ever developing lung cancer quite dramatically, as has been found in numerous studies.