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Radon is a colorless, odorless,
tasteless gas. The only way to tell if you have high levels in your
home is to test it.
So, why would you even want to know?
Because radon is considered the
second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. It is
blamed for as many as 15,000 lung-cancer deaths per year in the
United States. If you smoke and live in a home with high radon
levels, your chances of contracting lung cancer are substantially
increased.
Radon is a naturally occurring
element that is present throughout the country. It is a byproduct of
the radioactive breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water.
Any home or building can have
elevated radon levels, even if the house next door has a very low
level of radon. It typically gets into a home through cracks and
other holes in the foundation, including gaps around service pipes
and construction joints, and becomes trapped inside.
Since the Fond du Lac radon testing
program began in 2001, nearly 100 Band member homes have been
tested, and 22 have been either successfully mitigated for high
radon levels or are scheduled for mitigation in the near future.
These numbers indicate that approximately 20%-25% of Fond du Lac
area homes have elevated radon levels.
The program has also tested all Head
Start facilities, the Ojibwe School, Min-No-Aya-Win Human Services
Center, the Center for American Indian Resources, The Fond du Lac
Tribal and Community Center, and the Fond du Lac Cultural Center and
Museum. All public buildings had radon levels well below the EPA
level of concern.
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