JANUARY was National Radon Action month. Did you take action, or were you wondering what action you should take?
The EPA was encouraging people to get their houses
tested for radon.
Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless gas that comes from the natural decay of uranium found in soils. The gas comes up from the ground and can seep in cracks or openings in foundations or basements.
A 2003 EPA study estimates that, nationally, about 21,000 lung cancer deaths are caused every year by exposure to radon. Radon is present in high levels in parts of Kansas. In Lyon County, the levels are relatively low.
If want to get a radon test kit, you can purchase one at local stores for prices ranging from $9.99 to $39.95. If radon is detected, there are steps that can be taken to remove it from your house.
State Sen. Jim Barnett is concerned about radon exposure and is introducing legislation to have all homes in Kansas tested for radon before they are sold. According to Barnett, 200 Kansans die each year because of radon exposure. He said the lung-cancer death of a member of an Emporia family prompted him to introduce the bill.
Although the bill’s intention is to keep people safe, it will not be passed unless it overcomes some obstacles from different lobbying groups.
We wonder at what point a public safety issue becomes so great that it needs to go beyond a public awareness campaign and become a law.
Over the past several years, government has passed more and more safety laws. From seat belts to helmets, to what foods are safe to eat, citizens are allowed to make fewer decisions about their own well-being.
At some point, people must be allowed to use some common sense to protect themselves.
It will be interesting to watch Barnett’s radon legislation work its way through the Legislature and see if it becomes a new Kansas law.
But why wait for the government to pass a law to keep you safe? Why not use some common sense, get a radon test kit and check your home yourself?
Christopher White Walker
Editor & Publisher
eiggohp (anonymous) says...
I am not in favor of the "government" telling us that we must get our homes tested BEFORE we sell it, we should take the initiative to get a radon home test at the Extension Office and do it NOW, while we live it it ourselves. The cost is very low and it could save our lives, if we are breathing it. Let's take responsibility for our own affairs and leave the government out of it.
February 6, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
Nice editorial, Mr. Walker. I personally think that the issue with radon should be treated like the issue with lead paint - make it mandatory for home buyers to be educated on the risks associated with lead paint, and then let the consumer decide what actions to take. If this radon bill goes through, it might lead the way to other forced testing, such as lead and asbestos. If legislation piles on the testing requirements, it could become increasingly cost prohibitive to close on a house.
I'm curious how long radon-related death has been a serious threat. Many of the older houses in Emporia, my own being among them, do have basements, but they were built in the days when it wasn't expected that people lived, worked, slept, or played in them - basements were for storage and to use as a storm shelter. The houses built at that time also, by nature of their construction, "breathed" better than newer houses, which are practically hermetically sealed.
February 7, 2008 at 12:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )