Radon in our Homes: The Science Behind the Danger | Aaron Goodarzi | TEDxYYC

Living with something that can kill you is not a formula for success, yet some of us do this everyday, although mostly unknowingly. Radon is a radioactive gas with the potential to kill. It can leak into homes primarily through underground basements and prove fatal. Luckily, there are easy steps to check for and mitigate exposure. Learn about the new research being done to “Evict Radon” from our homes. Aaron Goodarzi, PhD, is an assistant professor at University of Calgary’s Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine, and currently holds the title of Canada Research Chair for Radiation Exposure Disease. He is a globally recognized researcher in understanding how radiation impacts our DNA to cause genetic damage and ultimately cancer.

[fredrubin]

Has there ever been a study actually comparing similar residences, half in radon producing areas and half in radon free areas. And in the first set, comparing actual levels of radon to the incidence of lung cancer and compared to the group with no radon. I cannot find such a study.

[gilbubelis]

To get enough exposure at the levels that would have an effect on your body ‘ you’ need to be underground miner that smokes cigarettes, that is according to EPA cited studies. Please look it up

[chadleever]

What is the research paper/project used to determine the level of radon that is a risk for lung cancer?

[chrismaxny]

Hmmm the trouble with the Internet is it makes our lack of knowledge visible. Is Radon harmless as presented in 'Myths of Radon' or as harmful as presented in this video. I suspect as usual the truth is somewhere in between. Being that homes are built much tighter today it's not surprising to see higher Radon levels.

[lesbouma]

Myths of radon is a 4 part series. This is done by a nuclear physicist. What you will learn is the radon EPA residential limit of 4 parts per billion. If you are work then the limit is 100. A banana has more gamma rays than the EPA limit.
Further more the “tools” they use to measure the radon limit in your home isn’t actually measuring radon, but a pseudo method to come up a number.
My dollar says this speaker is heavily invested in the Radom mitigation industry since he is advertising for a particular business. Keep in mind the radon industry is a very rapidly growing 100 Billion plus industry that is not interested in the facts, but how’s to spin the facts into dollars.

[saliknazir]

Dear everyone who thinks this is a scam/racket/over-exaggeration of the facts, I am a humble student of radiation physics and I see a lot of comments making fun of this guy. Coming to the point, one cannot bring down radon levels to zero as it's geogenic and almost ubiquitously present on our earth's crust. It isn't wise to say that it may be a racket or something. Radon-or for that matter any radioactive element with a short half-life (like radon) is highly dangerous and exposure at any level can cause some damage to the DNA (p53 gene). We call this as "Linear No Threshold model" meaning at no levels radiation is safe. Therefore the 2 pCi or 4 pCi levels are always referred to as "RECOMMENDED LEVELS" and never "SAFE LEVELS"-because they ain't. Thank you.

[jeremyb]

The answer to what we are doing wrong is what we are doing right. Go into a house's basement that was built in the 1890s and one build in the 2000s after a rain storm. On average the latter has no water in it. Drainage moves water away from the structure and radon uses it to enter.

[mnpd]

Alpha particles "dent" bullet-proof plastic? Unsure of the testing method, but the molecules in an inch or so of empty air will stop Alpha radiation, as will your skin or a sheet of paper.

[patrickw]

Mitigation techniques Should be added to all building codes.

[juliamihasastrology]

Something isn't adding up. Radon exposure is inreasing because newer housing is more insulated, thus concentrating the gas more. Yet lung cancer is declining.

[xarragon]

In Sweden we have a similar limit of 200 Bq/m3 and a national average of 105 Bq/m3. My own apartment has 150 Bq/m3 and according to the radiation safety authorities, radon causes 500 deaths every year. For comparision, traffic deaths is around 350 per year yet radon is largely unknown by the general public. Many buildings were constructed between 1920-1980 using uranium-rich lightweight concrete, most of which are still in use. Last year our elected officials decied to not lower the limit to WHO:s recommended 100 Bq/m3 levels, based on cost. It was considered more cost-effective to let the buildings stand and let people fall pray to cancer. And they call me cynical...

[donluchitti]

Why are newer built houses having higher radon levels?

[jeninlight]

How is there not more general public awareness of radon?

[dalejr]

Radon by itself isn’t that bad but what it decays into is. Those short half life duaghter isotopes.

[raiden]

I usually go with mainstream science, but radon is one place I need to pause. If radon truly was so dangerous, why do people quite literally not give a rats behind about radon for the years and decades they live in a house, only when they want to buy/sell do they care. We do so much to make roads safer, and drugs safer, but nobody puts a second thought about radon? Why? Why no ad campaigns to get people to test their homes to save lives?

[docstoddard]

... great sales pitch... but I've heard that the average American household can't drop their Radon levels below 2 Pci... or whatever the measurement is. Folks.. I'm starting to think this might be a racket...

[izzzzzz]

What does he mean by sensitive to radon? Can some people sense it or are some people immune to it compared to the sensitive type? Any more info on this?

[Diamonddrake]

This message was brought to you by the residential radon mitigation industry, and by homeowner’s wallets like yours!

[lukebieniek]

This is what’s known as over-selling. I’m quite sure there are hundreds, potentially four, five, even six figures of words, grunts & motivations to depict what this guy is actually doing on the TED stage.

[perspective]

Not a very convincing presentation when the best source he could find which claimed radon is dangerous in the home was from 1904.