Southwest Virginia is one of the biggest hotbeds of radon in the state.
“Southwest Virginia is zone 1 for radon — which is the highest occurrence,” said Keith Martin, an expert at Sure-Dri Basement Waterproofing in Roanoke.
It is a naturally forming gas underground from the mineral radium.
When radium breaks down, it forms a gas and it then seeps out of the ground and into buildings.
Martin said in our region, it can be anywhere.
“There is a lot of houses with radon,” said Martin. “One house can have it and next door not have it.”
If your house levels are high, Deb Brown with the American Lung Association said the gas can do damage.
“Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer,” said Brown. “The exposure to radon causes no immediate symptoms but the long-term threat of lung cancer is important to everyone.”
If you are concerned that your home does have radon, you can easily test it with a home test kit at your local hardware store.
Then, when you get home, it is as simple as placing it in a central location, waiting five to seven days, and then shipping it off to get your results.
“Don’t use the postal service they are too slow,” said Martin. “Send it [through] UPS or FedEx because after three days in the mail, it is no good.”
If it comes back positive, Martin said you can then have radon deterrents installed in your home.
Martin said when testing, he recommends two tests to ensure accuracy.