EPA to Assist in Home Surveys for Radon, Suspected in Lung Cancer
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WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it will help 10 states conduct surveys of household radon gas, an indoor pollutant that scientists believe could cause up to 20,000 lung cancer deaths a year.
The states were chosen because they were ready to begin selecting households to participate and their plans fit the EPA’s, Deputy Administrator A. James Barnes said. Other states may do their own surveys, he added.
The states selected were Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The surveys, to be conducted during the winter when there is less turnover of indoor air, will try to identify possible high-risk areas.
Radon, an inert radioactive gas, is produced by the radioactive decay of radium in the soil. A slightly lower air pressure indoors helps to keep it trapped inside homes.
The gas quickly decays into other radioactive products, which can lodge in the lung and irradiate tissues for a lifetime.
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